The Industrial Revolution reshaped the world over two centuries. The AI Revolution, argued Arik Faingold, Chairman of Commit and founder of Pentera and Autonomy AI, is unfolding in less than half a generation. Speaking at AI Week by Commit and Calcalist, in collaboration with Microsoft, he made one point unmistakable. AI is the new operational engine, and organizations that hesitate will quickly fall behind.

In a conversation with Roee Bergman, Arik traced the exponential curve of progress, from Nvidia GPUs and DGX-1 systems to LLMs and now AI Agents. What once took decades of gradual evolution is now happening in rapid waves, opening the door to what he described as a ten trillion dollar market, with AI Agents still in their first billion dollar phase.

For startups, his message was sharp. AI must sit at the core, not on the side. True defensibility will come from unique data, proprietary algorithms, and deep domain expertise. For enterprises, the journey begins with education, lowering anxiety, building a shared language, and systematically mapping pain points where AI can unlock real value. In this new landscape, creativity becomes a key performance indicator. Curiosity, problem-solving, and interdisciplinary thinking matter more than traditional output metrics.

Arik also emphasized Israel’s unique position. While the country did not build the underlying AI infrastructure, it is exceptionally strong at creating transformational solutions on top of it. With the right mindset and leadership, Israel can become a global leader in applied AI.

‍