Welcome back to another thought-provoking episode of Tank Talks! Matt Cohen sits down with John Ruffolo to dissect the most pressing developments in tech, finance, and AI. From major banking shifts to the evolving landscape of AI-driven SEO, this episode delivers sharp insights and expert analysis you won’t want to miss.

* The Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate cut—will it actually help the economy?

* The power shift in Canadian banking: What CIBC’s CEO transition means for the future.

* Open banking and AI’s role in reshaping the financial landscape.

* The rapid rise of AI-driven SEO—how companies are optimizing for large language models.

* CoreWeave’s massive IPO plans and why John Ruffolo sees echoes of the Nortel bubble.

* The brewing U.S.-EU trade war—why Trump’s tariff threats could hit Canadian businesses harder than expected.

Canada’s Banking Future: CIBC’s Big Shift (00:04:00)

* Victor Dodig steps down as CIBC CEO after 11 years, handing over to Harry Cullum, a capital markets veteran.

* The big question: Can Cullum lead CIBC into the digital era, or will traditional banks struggle to keep up with fintech and AI-powered banking?

* Why open banking is no longer a threat, but an opportunity for Canada’s biggest banks.

John Ruffolo’s Take:

John sees Cullum as a strong leader with deep expertise in digital banking, positioning him well for the transition. However, he warns that legacy banks must move quickly to stay competitive as fintech innovation accelerates, or risk falling behind in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

AI’s SEO Revolution: The Future of Search (00:10:00)

* Companies are now optimizing for AI models, not just Google Search.

* Mercury and Vercel are already seeing significant growth in inbound leads from large language models.

* The big shift: Instead of backlinks and keywords, companies are feeding training data directly into AI models.

CoreWeave’s Billion-Dollar Bet: Nortel 2.0? (00:14:00)

* CoreWeave, an AI-focused cloud company, is skyrocketing in valuation—going from $16 million in revenue to $1.9 billion in just two years.

* NVIDIA and Microsoft are heavily invested—so what happens if they pull the plug?

* Is CoreWeave truly innovative, or just benefiting from excess GPU capacity?

John Ruffolo’s Take:

"This reminds me way too much of Nortel in the late ‘90s. They pumped up revenue, but it was all based on unsustainable deals. Watch this one carefully."

As AI reshapes industries, banking undergoes major leadership shifts, and companies scramble to adapt to new digital landscapes, the stakes have never been higher. Will traditional banks successfully embrace open banking and digital transformation, or will fintech disruptors take the lead? Can AI-driven SEO remain a competitive advantage, or will regulators step in to level the playing field? And as CoreWeave pushes toward its high-stakes IPO, is this the beginning of a new tech revolution, or a repeat of past market bubbles? The coming months will reveal whether these trends signal long-term shifts—or short-lived hype.

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