AI is everywhere — but most of it never scales.

In this episode of The Optimist, Dale Rickert speaks with Matthias Emler, Partner at Horváth, about why so many AI initiatives get stuck in pilots and what it really takes to turn them into scalable systems.

From chatbots to agent-based automation, they explore how companies can move step by step — starting small, but building toward real transformation. The conversation highlights the importance of frameworks, data governance, and organizational alignment and why technology alone is never enough.

With TECH in Heilbronn bringing together Europe’s leading voices from business, politics, and science, this episode focuses on a critical shift: From experimenting with AI to making it work at scale.

The Optimist is presented by TECH by Handelsblatt Media Group and independent from the Handelsblatt editorial team. With the Technology Experience Convention Heilbronn (TECH), Handelsblatt Media Group, Handelsblatt and Schwarz Digits are creating a strategic platform to strengthen the European tech ecosystem. TECH‘s mission is to establish a „cluster of optimism“, connecting Europe’s most influential leaders across technology, industry, politics, and academia. More at tech-europe.org