The path from artificial intelligence training to production is a thorny one — that’s why Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. developed its “Unleash AI” partner program.

The program brings together pre-validated AI solutions built to run on HPE’s platforms, including HPE Private Cloud AI (co-created with Nvidia Corp.), alongside a curated ecosystem of independent software vendors chosen for their ability to deliver real enterprise use cases.

“It’s really HPE’s strategy for delivering production-ready enterprise AI with the governance, security and scale organizations need to be able to jump over that gap that we’ve heard so much about going from pilot to the production,” said Robin Braun (pictured), vice president of AI business development, hybrid cloud, at HPE. “We can help our customers move from AI experiments to AI outcomes fast, safely and within their own firewalls so that they can take advantage of their own data.”

Braun spoke with theCUBE’s Rob Strechay for HPE’s “Unleash AI Momentum” series, during an exclusive interview on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed Unleash AI, the rise of AI agents and HPE’s smart cities solutions. (* Disclosure below.)

Unleash AI offers reassurance

For its Unleash AI program, HPE is highly selective with its pool of ISVs. The 26-plus members include partners such as CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. and Fortanix Inc., which focus on confidential computing and cybersecurity, and Kamiwaza Corp., an AI orchestration platform that enables scalable agentic AI deployment.

“We’ve really gone out and curated a handful of partners focused on different AI use cases — from vision AI all the way to agentic analytics and everything in between, including accessibility and compliance, data governance … and then stretching all the way into digital twins, where you start to think about operationalizing your environment in different ways,” Braun said. “Each [ISV] brings something essential that our customers and partners need to be able to solve those business challenges that they’re wrestling with.”

Unleash AI also offers hands-on labs so that users can test out AI solutions for themselves and walk through potential workflows. If they can see real results in a controlled environment, that makes it easier to commit to a full-fledged proof-of-concept, Braun explained.

Organizations might know exactly what they are trying to achieve, but not who might be the right partner to achieve it. By tapping into Unleash AI, they can be sure the AI vendors are trustworthy, Braun added.

“One of the great things about being able to bring in these partners and these solutions [is] the customers know they’ve been vetted,” she said. “[The ISVs] are enterprise ready, working with HPE and typically a channel partner or a system partner … able to bring [customers] into their environment and essentially create that easy button for how they can get started on their AI journey.”

AI’s game-changing use cases

The use cases for agentic AI are growing. HPE partnered with Kamiwaza to create a Section 508 compliance agent that helps government entities stay in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act, or ADA, standard. The three-part solution includes a computer use agent that can take over a browser and access the website, a standard large language model, for understanding the website itself, and a model that represents the information visually.

“In the end, the goal [is] to make public information more accessible for people with disabilities, which is something that you can be passionate about, whether there’s a federal regulation or not,” Braun said. “This used to take months, but working with someone like Kamiwaza, it can take minutes and it’s really game-changing.”

Another collaboration is the Agentic Smart City Solution with Kamiwaza and SHI International Corp., which HPE announced at the Nvidia GTC Washington, D.C. event. It uses innovations such as AI-powered video analysis and a digital AI civic ambassador to build a sustainable urban ecosystem.

“We’ll continue to build out that ecosystem as additional use cases come up,” Braun said. “From mobility to public safety, environmental insights, digital twins — all things that cities are struggling with — to look at how did they bring them to life and start to leverage these technologies to help their cities, in the end, be smarter.”

HPE’s agentic future

Europe has seen a wave of regulations, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and AI Act, which will be fully applicable by August 2026. HPE helps its European customers address the new requirements, building off of its Private Cloud AI platform, which is already designed for sovereign AI.

“Readiness and compliance to me is one of the areas where we started with 508 compliance here in the U.S.,” Braun explained. “Expanding that to be able to bring that same type of compliance against the EU regulations is such a complex and sometimes even conflict environment that it really is a growth driver for AI adoption.”

As the agentic AI ball continues rolling, HPE plans to expand its portfolio of vertical AI offerings. The company is focusing on the manufacturing and retail sectors, as well as airports and healthcare. Agentic AI enables HPE to meet the specific requirements of each industry with flexibility, according to Braun.

“Every different vertical has their own unique need, all of which AI can assist with, but with different flavors and different requirements across each one,” she said. “You’ll see us continue to lean into those areas [and] continue to grow that out as we look at agentic workflows … from accessibility to analytics to operations.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of HPE’s “Unleash AI Momentum” interview series:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for HPE’s “Unleash AI Momentum” interview series. Neither HPE, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE