SAP CEO Announces AI Breakthrough Platform
At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Tech Conference, SAP (SAP) CEO Christian Klein emphasized that the company is on the verge of a major breakthrough in artificial intelligence. He highlighted the general availability of a new platform later this fall, which allows customers to build any agent using large language models and includes a rich context layer for enhanced functionality. Despite strong second-quarter results—9% year-over-year sales growth reaching 9.88 billion euros ($10.8 billion), cloud revenue up 22%, and earnings above estimates—investors remain cautious about SAP's future in the AI-driven software market. The company slightly reduced its full-year operating profit guidance due to recent acquisitions, which has not eased concerns over competition from emerging vendors. Klein is personally overseeing SAP’s AI strategy while cutting costs and headcount to improve performance. Analysts like JPMorgan’s Toby Ogg remain skeptical about the ability of SAP's cloud backlog to sustain growth in a competitive market.
Topics: AI CEO statement cloud growth SAP