99x has launched xianix.ai, an open-source AI platform designed to help organisations unlock the full potential of Artificial Intelligence across the software delivery lifecycle.
The launch took place in Oslo, Norway, during 99x’s Breakfast Seminar titled “The 10X Productivity Promise: Can AI Deliver?”, which brought together technology leaders to explore how AI is reshaping productivity in software engineering.
For decades, software delivery has been guided by traditional Software Development Life Cycles (SDLC), structured around human effort, sequential development phases, manual handovers, and engineering capacity constraints. However, as AI continues to transform software engineering, organisations are increasingly challenged to move beyond using AI as a tool and instead achieve transformational productivity outcomes.
Developed by engineering teams at 99x, Xianix enables a transition toward the AI-Driven Development Life Cycle (AI-DLC), a software delivery model designed for an AI-native operating environment. Rather than functioning as a standalone assistant, Xianix creates an ecosystem of coordinated AI agents that work collaboratively while keeping human expertise at the centre.
Within this model, AI is leveraged for speed, scale, and repetitive execution, while humans focus on decision-making, accountability, customer understanding, and creativity.
99x CEO Hasith Yaggahavita said, “Our Breakfast Seminar in Oslo sparked valuable discussions on how software teams are approaching AI adoption and how to translate its potential into real business outcomes. Moving from SDLC to AI-DLC is not about retrofitting existing processes; it is about fundamentally rethinking how software is planned, built, and operated in an AI-enabled era. Xianix was built to support that transition.”
Gture Norway, a 99x Group company Architect/Project Manager Molly Vassbotn added, “Most AI adoption today focuses on helping individuals work faster. We wanted to address how organisations rethink delivery processes and standard tooling for the AI era. Xianix enables intelligent automation and provides comprehensive quality coverage across delivery pipelines, helping teams evolve from traditional development approaches towards AI-native operating models.”
The shift toward AI is also reshaping the nature of engineering talent required for the future. At 99x, engineers are increasingly evolving into Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs)—professionals who combine engineering expertise with business understanding, customer engagement, strategic thinking, and problem-solving capabilities. As AI takes over repetitive execution tasks, 99x envisions its talent moving into higher-value global engineering roles.
Sysco Wins Newsweek’s 2026 AI Impact Award for Excellence in AI Brand & Retail Innovation
Sysco Corporation (NYSE), the global leader in food distribution, has been awarded the 2026 Newsweek AI Impact Award for its enterprise-wide artificial intelligence initiative designed to transform supply chain operations, enhance sales productivity, and elevate the customer e-commerce experience.
Sysco received recognition in the AI Brand & Retail – Best Outcomes category for the development and scaling of the Sysco Agentic Ecosystem (SAGE), a company-wide AI capability aimed at moving artificial intelligence beyond experimentation into core business operations. SAGE is embedded across sales, supply chain, customer experience, and back-office functions, enabling more intelligent, efficient, and data-driven decision-making at scale.
“SAGE represents a major step forward in responsible AI operationalisation across a complex, global enterprise,” said Sysco Interim Chief Information and Digital Officer Navin Advani. “By embedding AI directly into workflows—from sales enablement and customer engagement to supply chain planning, inventory optimisation, and back-office functions—we are transforming AI from a set of tools into a durable operating capability.”
The Newsweek AI Impact Awards recognise organisations that demonstrate measurable, real-world impact from artificial intelligence, highlighting innovations that move beyond experimentation to deliver sustained operational and business value.
This recognition underscores Sysco’s leadership in applying AI responsibly to address complex retail and supply chain challenges at enterprise scale, setting a benchmark for the operationalisation of agentic AI across industries.
Sysco LABS Sri Lanka Managing Director Thushera Kawdawatta noted, “Receiving the Newsweek 2026 AI Impact Award for AI Brand & Retail Excellence is a tremendous milestone for the entire Sysco ecosystem. We are incredibly proud of our teams at Sysco LABS in Sri Lanka, who have played a key role in engineering SAGE. This global recognition, alongside our recent wins at the Presidential Export Awards and SLASSCOM National Ingenuity Awards, demonstrates that world-class innovation originating from Colombo is actively shaping the future of our global business.”
SAGE enables teams across Sysco to automate workflows, surface insights more quickly, and improve decision-making through AI-enabled capabilities supported by human oversight. In e-commerce and sales enablement, it powers more personalised digital experiences, smarter product discovery through Sysco Shop, and supports sales consultants with Next Best Actions (NBAs).
Within months of deployment, SAGE has moved from pilot stages into production, powering multiple live agentic solutions and supporting millions of business interactions across Sysco’s global operations.
The platform serves as a connective intelligence layer, integrating external AI models and capabilities with Sysco’s internal data and systems to enable AI-powered workflows across the enterprise. Unlike traditional AI platforms, SAGE is model-agnostic and designed to run across any cloud infrastructure, allowing Sysco to adopt emerging technologies while maintaining strong security, compliance, and human-in-the-loop governance.
By standardising the development, governance, and deployment of AI agents, SAGE enables Sysco to scale solutions rapidly and accelerate time-to-value across its global business operations.
99x Launches Xianix in Oslo, Ushering in a New Era of AI-Native Software Development
