Innovation Inc: Industry giants plan for a digital future

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The full impact of the coronavirus on corporate America is starting to come into picture as top companies report earnings for the three months through June.

But while there are conflicting views over just how much IT budgets will be impacted, it appears many of the largest US firms are maintaining plans to plow forward on their digital overhauls. Google Cloud, for example, announced a slate of new customers at its recent conference. The company is working with Fox Sports to catalog its media library and use artificial intelligence to help create more compelling content for fans. It also partnered with MadHive to help the advertising technology startup address a surge in streaming as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fidelity continues its investment into virtual reality as a potential conduit for meetings with financial advisors and Goldman Sachs is working to add more AI-enabled money management tools for Marcus, the investment bank's consumer division.

Goldman's priorities align with those of other industry titans: A recent study found that 58% of financial services firms expect to bolster investments in interactive tools, while 54% intend to increase funding into AI-based initiatives.

These are just early examples. But as the coronavirus pandemic overhauls consumer behavior and desires, many more are likely as companies rush to accelerate nearly overnight what was intended to be years-long digital journey.

Below are a few more stories from the past few weeks that illuminate the coming surge in adoption of emerging tech.

And as always: If you're interested in receiving this biweekly newsletter and other updates from our ongoing Innovation Inc. series, please be sure to sign up here:

• The top 16 companies using artificial intelligence to revolutionize drug discovery, according to experts
• Chief innovation officers from PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY share the best pivot and growth strategies they've learned over the past 4 months coaching billion-dollar businesses
• 3 reasons why Microsoft is beating out Amazon and Google to become the emerging favorite in healthcare, according to the tech chief of New York's biggest hospital system
• How PwC is using VR to shake up bias trainings and get employees to think about their hidden prejudices
• The inside story of how health IT company Cerner partnered with Salesforce to use marketing software to keep people healthy