Be There Before®
Welcome to the Be There Before (BTB), B2B Tech—your view into what's driving the conversation in B2B technology. This proprietary look at established, emerging, and social media landscapes comprises data from a treasure trove of tools and analysis from INK's in-house experts. We determine who is talking, where they're talking, what they're talking about, and why. In-depth monitoring, analysis, and going beneath the surface of what's trending is critical to bringing value to our clients. Our aptly named BTBs are just one of the tools we use to Be There Before® for our clients.
If Q1 was a litmus test for the AI bubble, the results came back… inconclusive. Microsoft credited cloud strength for its 13% earnings jump. But Amazon, despite investor optimism, saw cloud revenue fall for the third straight quarter, an unexpected dip that raised fresh questions about long-term growth.
As Q2 kicks off, we’re watching closely to see how tech players navigate persistent headwinds (i.e., tariffs, inflation, and shifting consumer behavior) alongside the pull of generative AI, automation, and enabling infrastructure.
Still, most companies struck a bullish tone on AI, with plans to keep investing in infrastructure or prepping new product launches. Regulatory pressure ramped up, too, with Apple and Meta facing nearly $800 million in EU fines, sparking renewed deregulation chatter in the U.S.
On the financial side, tariffs triggered market instability, muted M&A activity, and raised new questions in the insurtech space about the future of health coverage and social security. Meanwhile, data remains a top priority, with companies trying to figure out how to protect it, how to use it, and how AI agents might help (or complicate) both.
April brought Q1 earnings announcements–the first full quarter since the change in administration–and you could feel the collective exhale that concerns surrounding an AI bubble burst didn’t come to fruition. AI investments, as well as increasing tariff impacts and shifting consumer behaviors, remain topics of interest among media, and the next few months will show us how resilient the tech sector is in its response. Additionally, fraud and consumer protections in the age of AI were widely discussed and will likely continue as Big Tech feels the push to get deregulation back on the list of the current administration’s priorities following $800M in fines imposed by the European Union.
Cloud had a strong month, as Microsoft cited increasing cloud demand as the primary driver for its 13% revenue increase in Q1. Cybersecurity also remained top of mind for media as discussion on the value of agentic AI and automation gained steam in April. Fintech coverage rebounded slightly from March due to speculation that the CFPB would reduce its involvement in cryptocurrency regulation due to a directive from the Trump administration. This is significant as Eric Trump has repeatedly shared that he expects cryptocurrency to overtake banks in the next 10 years.
We monitor coverage across vertical trades in three main topics: policy and compliance, investment and funding, and innovation. Policy and compliance coverage was the largest bucket of trade coverage across almost all verticals, except fintech, which had considerably more innovation and investment coverage.
Click on a topic below to drill down further into the conversation.
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Alex Wilhelm’s April 24 edition of Cautious Optimism caught our attention. He shared two interesting charts showing how the U.S. is leading the global supercomputer race. With OpenAI and Google's AI platforms skyrocketing in popularity (hello, 160 million users for OpenAI), demand for supercomputing is through the roof. Alex says startups are all about building AI products, enterprises want AI for cost cuts, and investors are making wagers. But really, he suspects consumers are the most actively engaged market group of all. It’s a perfect mix for driving the global demand curve.
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#Cybersecurity spiked after Oracle’s breach, while #DeFi, #Crypto, and #Blockchain gained ground amid renewed interest in decentralized finance. #Web3 also picked up traction as discussions centered on user autonomy and data integrity. Broader themes like #Technology and #Innovation tied it all together, and #soonistheredpill hinted at a growing belief: a major tech shift is on the horizon. #Tech remains the constant.
April was the first month we were able to bring Bluesky posts into our analysis of the social conversation. Bluesky posts, despite having less volume than X and Reddit posts, pointed to a more nuanced conversation with multiple sides of a story being discussed.
On X, we continue to see fintech posts skyrocket in mentions, reach, and impressions due to Grok posts as well as significant bot activity.
Insurtech conversations increased throughout April with a focus on multiple data breaches exposing sensitive information and fueling anxiety amongst posters.
We saw social conversations ebb and flow along with major political swings and product/company announcements, as we would expect. There were small boosts in conversation driven by industry events, as well. Fintech mentions continue to soar, with X's Grok leading the way as fintech's most prolific poster.
Pro Tip: If you run ads on Meta, keep a close eye on your image uploads. The platform has added AI creative “enhancements” including text overlays, visual touch-ups, music, text improvements, and AI-generated images—all of which are enabled by default. When uploading your ad creative, carefully review each enhancement and turn them off if they’re not aligned with your brand standards.
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