Welcome back to 4IR. Here’s today’s lineup:
Bank of England warns AI valuations risk “rapid correction” - OpenAI hits $500B valuation (up from $157B last October) as UK central bank flags bubble concerns; Anthropic triples valuation while industry questions if growth is real or hype
Salesforce acquires Apromore to supercharge Agentforce automation - Process mining startup joins Data Cloud and Agentforce ecosystem, completing the “intelligence triangle” as enterprise bets on self-improving AI agents
India’s tech sector braces for 50,000 AI-driven job cuts - Silent layoffs accelerate as AI adoption reshapes workforce; 2025 becomes inflection point where automation moves from experimental to operational at scale
Bank of England warns AI valuations risk “rapid correction”
The story: The Bank of England issued warnings today about a possible rapid “correction” in AI company valuations, questioning whether current market values reflect realistic projections or unfounded optimism. OpenAI’s valuation has exploded from $157 billion in October 2024 to $500 billion today, while Anthropic has nearly tripled its own valuation. Bloomberg’s weekend analysis examined what happens “if the AI bubble bursts,” noting that predicting tech bubbles is notoriously difficult—you only know for certain when they pop. With hindsight, the report notes, many current AI headlines sound exactly like the naive optimism of 1999 if you simply replace “AI” with “computers.”
What we know:
OpenAI valuation jumped from $157B (Oct 2024) to $500B (Oct 2025)
Anthropic valuation nearly tripled in same period
Bank of England specifically flagged AI sector for potential “rapid correction”
Questions center on whether valuations based on real capabilities or hype
Bloomberg analysis draws parallels to dot-com bubble dynamics
Industry insiders acknowledge difficulty separating signal from noise in real-time
Why it matters: When a central bank starts using the word “correction,” institutions listen. The UK’s financial regulator isn’t known for hyperbole—if they’re concerned about AI valuations, pension fund managers are already stress-testing their exposure. The OpenAI trajectory is particularly wild: more than tripling valuation in twelve months with no clear path to profitability. Unlike 2000, these aren’t zero-revenue startups—but the question remains whether enterprise AI adoption can possibly justify half-trillion-dollar valuations. The concentration risk is extreme: if OpenAI or Anthropic stumbles, the entire AI infrastructure ecosystem built around them faces existential questions.
Here’s what’s interesting: The Bank of England doesn’t make casual observations about specific sectors. This warning suggests UK financial regulators are seeing institutional exposure levels that concern them. The Bloomberg framing—”replace AI with computers and it sounds naive”—cuts deep because it’s true. Scroll through any 2025 AI prediction thread and swap “AI agents” with “internet portals” and you’ve got Barron’s from March 2000. The difference is OpenAI and Anthropic are burning venture capital building actual products, not publicly traded companies with retail investors. But when sovereign wealth funds and pension systems are this exposed, the “correction” hits retirement accounts, not just VCs.
Salesforce acquires Apromore to supercharge Agentforce automation
The story: Salesforce announced the acquisition of Apromore today, bringing process mining and intelligence capabilities directly into its Agentforce automation platform. The Australian startup specializes in mapping business processes, analyzing performance against KPIs, and identifying automation opportunities—exactly what AI agents need to understand “what workflows really look like” before they can intelligently automate them. Steve Fisher, Salesforce’s President and Chief Product Officer, called it “end-to-end visibility” that enables “agentic process automation.” The move positions Salesforce to compete directly with ServiceNow and Celonis in the process intelligence wars.
What we know:
Apromore provides process mining, task mining, digital twins, and simulation capabilities
Integration targets “agentic process automation” across Salesforce ecosystem
Deal completes “intelligence triangle” of Data Cloud + Agentforce + Process Intelligence
Most Apromore customers already run Salesforce according to CEO Marcello La Rosa
Directly competes with ServiceNow and Celonis process mining plays
Enables AI agents to monitor, predict, and improve business processes autonomously
Why it matters: This is Salesforce admitting that AI agents need context to be useful. You can’t automate what you don’t understand, and enterprises have shockingly poor visibility into their own processes. Apromore solves the “what are we actually doing?” problem before Agentforce tackles the “how do we automate it?” question. The timing matters—this acquisition happens as CIOs realize AI agents are only as good as their understanding of existing workflows. If Salesforce embeds process intelligence at the platform level while competitors bolt it on afterward, that’s a genuine moat. The “self-improving automation” pitch is the real prize: agents that don’t just execute tasks but optimize processes without human intervention.
The competitive positioning is fascinating. ServiceNow has been crushing it with process automation, and Celonis owns process mining in enterprise. Salesforce is late to this party but bringing massive distribution—every company already using Salesforce CRM now gets process intelligence bundled in. The “agentic process automation” framing is pure positioning: we’re not just doing workflow automation like everyone else, we’re building AI that learns your business and makes it better. The phrase “self-improving automation” should terrify middle management everywhere. If Agentforce can actually map processes, identify inefficiencies, and auto-optimize without human approval, that’s not augmentation anymore—that’s replacement.
India’s tech sector braces for 50,000 AI-driven job cuts
The story: India’s IT industry is facing a wave of “silent layoffs” with 50,000 jobs at risk in 2025, driven primarily by AI automation according to reports today. The layoffs aren’t dramatic announcements but quiet non-renewals and “managed attrition” as companies automate tasks previously handled by offshore development centers. This follows broader trends showing AI adoption in 2025 accelerating workforce changes, leading to massive layoffs, economic shifts, and fundamental restructuring of how technical work gets done. The pattern extends beyond India—reports indicate companies globally are using AI more for automation than augmentation, with task elimination rather than worker enhancement driving adoption.
What we know:
50,000 IT jobs at risk in India’s tech sector due to AI automation
Pattern described as “silent layoffs” rather than mass terminations
AI adoption accelerating workforce restructuring globally in 2025
Companies prioritizing automation over augmentation based on usage data
Offshore development centers particularly vulnerable to AI replacement
Trend represents shift from experimental AI to operational deployment at scale
Why it matters: 2025 is the year AI moves from “interesting demo” to “operational replacement.” The India offshore model—built on cost arbitrage for repetitive technical tasks—is exactly what LLMs automate most effectively. When 50,000 jobs disappear quietly rather than through headline-grabbing layoffs, it signals companies have figured out the playbook: let contracts expire, don’t backfill, route work to AI. This isn’t theoretical disruption anymore; it’s happening at scale. The “silent” nature is strategic—companies avoiding the PR nightmare of AI-driven layoffs while steadily automating their workforce. If India’s tech sector, which employs millions, is seeing this level of pressure, every knowledge work industry should be preparing.
These aren’t replacements of bad workers with AI. They’re replacements of perfectly functional offshore teams with AI that costs 95% less. The “silent layoffs” framing tells you everything—companies know this is controversial so they’re managing it quietly. The India angle matters because it’s the canary: if work that could be offshored to humans can now be offshored to AI at 1/20th the cost, what does that mean for every knowledge worker job? The timing lines up with Anthropic and OpenAI usage data showing companies using AI for automation, not augmentation. We’re past the “AI will help you work better” phase and into the “AI will do your job cheaper” phase. The question isn’t if this accelerates, but how fast.
Note: Commentary sections are editorial interpretation, not factual claims