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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Several companies outside the technology industry are building technology into the way they make products, run operations, or serve customers. Nestlé and Unilever are applying AI and connected systems across consumer-goods workflows; AGCO is combining farm machinery with digital agriculture tools; and LSEG makes data and technology-enabled services central to financial-market infrastructure. These are examples of tech-like operating practices—not proof that the companies match Big Tech in scale, capability, or performance.
What it means to operate like a tech giant
There is no formal industry category for a company that “operates like a tech giant.” Here, the phrase describes observable practices: integrating data and platforms, automating core workflows, connecting production or distribution digitally, or making technology-enabled services part of the value delivered to customers.
That definition is broader than adopting AI. A technology effort is more meaningful when it is tied to a specific workflow or product, such as a connected factory, a digital farm-management platform, or data services embedded in financial markets. The examples below are based on company reporting, which is useful for understanding what firms say they have deployed but does not independently verify the benefits.
How the companies use technology
| Company | Where technology enters the business | Who uses it | Reported evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nestlé | Manufacturing, procurement, finance and sales | Employees, procurement teams and salespeople | Nearly 90% of 335 factories on one manufacturing system; AI sales-assistant results are from pilot markets |
| Unilever | Research and development, marketing, supplier onboarding and HR | Product teams, marketers, suppliers and employees | Personal Care AI Studio was live in four markets in the company’s 2025 report, with further rollout planned for 2026 |
| LSEG | Financial data products and market infrastructure | Financial-market customers and participants | Integrated solutions include AI functionality across data, analytics and other market services |
| AGCO | Farm equipment, precision agriculture and cloud-based farm operations | Farmers using new or mixed-brand equipment | PTx FarmENGAGE connects machine data, agronomic insights and task management across brands and platforms |
Nestlé: connecting factories and enterprise workflows
Nestlé’s technology story is primarily about coordinating a large consumer-goods operation. The company says it began upgrading its global digital core, based on SAP technology, in 2025, starting in its Asia, Oceania and Africa zone. It reports that the upgrade covered 112 countries and 50,000 employees without interrupting operations. Nestlé also says a single manufacturing system had been scaled to nearly 90% of its 335 factories. These are company-reported deployment figures, not independent comparisons with other manufacturers. (Nestlé annual report; 2025 results)
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Procurement is another example of digitizing an internal process. Nestlé says around 85% of its procurement teams use its e-auctions platform for more than 40% of purchasing spend. The company reports that many transactions delivered up to 10% in incremental savings; that figure applies to many transactions, not necessarily all purchases. (Nestlé annual report; 2025 results)
AI in sales: a pilot, not a company-wide result
Nestlé reported that an agentic-AI virtual sales assistant automated up to 40% of routine tasks and saved salespeople 20–35% of time on those tasks in pilot markets. The company presents this as a pilot result; it should not be read as a measured productivity gain across all Nestlé sales teams. (Nestlé 2025 results)
Unilever: applying AI across consumer-goods work
Unilever’s 2025 annual-report page describes AI use in several distinct workflows: simulations and formulation tools in research and development, AI-supported marketing production, real-time-data workflows for supplier onboarding, and HR processes that use technology and AI. The company says chatbots are the first point of contact for most HR matters. This is a cross-functional operating model rather than a single customer-facing technology product. (Unilever annual report and accounts)
Marketing tools and the Personal Care AI Studio
Unilever reported that its Personal Care AI Studio was live in four markets and that further rollouts were planned for 2026. That is the status and plan described in the company’s 2025 report; it does not establish whether or where those later rollouts occurred. (Unilever annual report and accounts)
Product range changes are a separate measure
The same report says Unilever reduced Beauty & Wellbeing SKUs by over 30% in a regional-transformation context since early 2024, and reduced Personal Care SKUs by over 20% since 2022. The figures refer to different business scopes and time periods; they should not be combined into one company-wide reduction. (Unilever annual report and accounts)
LSEG: technology at the center of financial-market services
LSEG differs from the manufacturers in this group because data and technology-enabled services are central to what it sells. The company describes itself as a financial-markets infrastructure and data-products provider, with activities spanning data, indices and analytics, capital formation, trade execution, clearing and risk management. Its stated strategy is to serve customers across the trade lifecycle, with integrated solutions that include AI functionality. That makes LSEG an example of a data ecosystem embedded in financial services, not a consumer technology platform. (LSEG annual reports)
In its 2025 annual-report highlights, LSEG reported total income excluding recoveries of £9.0 billion and adjusted EBITDA of £4.5 billion. Those company-reported financial figures indicate the scale of the business; on their own, they do not show that technology caused its financial results. (LSEG annual reports)
AGCO: digital tools for farms with mixed-brand equipment
AGCO combines physical agricultural machinery with precision-agriculture technology. Its 2025 annual report says the PTx business brings together Precision Planting, PTx Trimble and smaller technology acquisitions to provide solutions across the crop cycle. Farmers can use retrofit technology with mixed-brand equipment or access solutions on new machines through original-equipment relationships. (AGCO annual reports and proxy materials)
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AGCO describes PTx FarmENGAGE as a mixed-fleet, cloud-based data platform. It integrates machine connectivity, agronomic insights and task management across brands and platforms. The practical distinction is interoperability: farmers may use the platform alongside equipment from more than one manufacturer, rather than relying only on a single brand’s machines. (AGCO annual reports and proxy materials)
AGCO reported 2025 revenue of $10.1 billion, research and development spending of $487.7 million, and 14 new products introduced by PTx during the year. These are company-reported figures for that reporting period, not independent rankings of technology investment or product innovation. (AGCO annual reports and proxy materials)
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Two more examples: Almarai and Mahindra & Mahindra
Almarai: integrating data across operations
Almarai says its 2025 transformation combined SAP S/4HANA with Snowflake and Microsoft Fabric to integrate data across SAP, manufacturing, logistics and sales channels. It also reported strengthening cybersecurity and establishing an AI Centre of Excellence. This is evidence of an effort to join operational data and governance across a business; it does not, by itself, establish a consumer-facing digital platform. (Almarai annual reports)
Mahindra & Mahindra: technology across a business ecosystem
Mahindra & Mahindra’s FY2024–25 report describes the use of data and AI, generative AI, cloud computing and cybersecurity across its business ecosystem. It frames the approach around human-centric AI innovation, responsible scalability and security by design. The report supports describing a broad technology strategy, but the available account does not give a common outcome metric that can be compared with the deployment or pilot figures reported by the other companies. (Mahindra annual reports)
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What these examples show—and what they do not
The examples illustrate different ways technology can shape a business beyond the technology sector. Nestlé and Unilever emphasize internal workflows and operations; AGCO extends digital tools into farmers’ work across equipment brands; LSEG’s data products and market infrastructure are part of its customer proposition. The useful comparison is not simply how much AI a company mentions, but where technology enters the value chain, who uses it, what systems it connects and what outcome the company reports.
All of the evidence above comes from company reports or investor materials. It supports describing these initiatives and reported figures, but does not provide a shared, independent benchmark for technical capability, productivity or returns. Nor does it establish that technology alone caused the reported business outcomes. The companies are illustrative examples, not a definitive list of every non-tech business with comparable practices.
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