Forte Spotlight: AI's Accelerating Impact, The Agent2Agent Protocol and More

As Forte Group's Chief Technology Officer, I am thrilled to share the latest advancements, innovations, and insights driving our commitment to technological excellence, empowering you to stay at the forefront of industry trends and developments.

I recently spoke with Vinay Kapoor, Chief Product Officer and Interim CTO at Expana. We discussed the role of the CPTO, leveraging AI in business transformation and more. Watch the interview below.

-- Lucas Hendrich, CTO, Forte Group

CTO Spotlight

The newly released Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025 from Stanford’s HAI Institute is not just a snapshot of where AI stands, it is a clear indicator of where the global economy is headed. 

As we track the exponential growth in AI capabilities, adoption, and investment, one conclusion becomes inescapable: AI is fast becoming the dominant general-purpose technology of the 21st century, with compounding effects on GDP, labor productivity, and capital formation.

The data tells a clear story. In 2024 alone, private AI investment hit $252.3 billion globally, up 26% year over year. U.S. firms accounted for $109.1 billion, more than 12x China's investment and 24x the U.K.'s. 

Generative AI made up over $33.9 billion of that sum, underscoring the shift from niche experimentation to mainstream business enablement. What does this mean for long-term GDP?

Get the answer in my Forte blog post, "The Next Economic Epoch: AI's Accelerating Impact On Global Productivity And Growth."

Technology Spotlight

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI, interoperability among agents is becoming a cornerstone for enterprise innovation. 

Google's recent announcement of the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol marks a significant stride toward seamless collaboration among AI agents across diverse platforms. As CTOs chart the course for their organizations’ AI strategies, understanding A2A's capabilities, and how it contrasts with Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP), is essential.

A2A is an open protocol designed to enable AI agents to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate, regardless of their underlying frameworks or vendors. This initiative, backed by over 50 technology partners including Atlassian, Box, and Salesforce, aims to dismantle the silos that often hinder enterprise automation.

Learn more in my blog post about what CTOs should know about AI agent interoperability.

Industry Spotlight

What happens when a product visionary steps into the CTO seat, not once, but twice? 

In the latest episode of our CTO2CTO podcast, I interviewed Vinay Kapoor, Chief Product Officer and interim CTO at Expana. We explored what it really means to lead at the intersection of innovation, technology, and business.

From scaling teams to navigating AI strategy, Vinay offered a clear, honest look at the evolving expectations of technology leaders today.

We summarized the interview on the Forte blog.

Thank You

Thanks for reading – let me know what you thought of this month's issue. See you again next month.

– Lucas Hendrich, CTO, Forte Group