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Oil prices were popping early Wednesday morning after Iran said U.S. and Israeli airstrikes hit one of its key natural gas field, while nearby oil and petrochemical facilities also came under attack.

In 2026, data engineers working with multi-agent systems are hitting a familiar problem: Agents built on different platforms don’t operate from a shared understanding of the business. The result isn’t model failure — it’s hallucination driven by fragmented context.The problem is that agents built on different platforms, by different teams, do not share a common understanding of how the business actually operates. Each one carries its own interpretation of what a customer, an order or a region means. When those definitions diverge across a workforce of agents, decisions break down.A set of announcements from Microsoft this week directly targets that problem. The centerpiece is a significant expansion of Fabric IQ, the semantic intelligence layer the company debuted in November 2025. Fabric IQ’s business ontology is now accessible via MCP to any agent from any vendor, not just Microsoft’s. Alongside that, Microsoft is adding enterprise planning to Fabric IQ, unifying historical data, real-time signals and formal organizational goals in one queryable layer. The new Database Hub brings Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQL Server under a single management plane inside Fabric. Fabric data agents reach general availability. The overall goal is a unified platform where all data and semantics are available and accessible by any agent to get the context that enterprises require.Amir Netz, CTO of Microsoft Fabric, reached for a film analogy to explain why the shared context layer matters. “It’s a little bit like the girl from 50 First Dates,” Netz told VentureBeat. “Every morning they wake up and they forget everything and you have to explain it again. This is the explanation that you give them every morning.”Why MCP access changes the equationMaking the ontology MCP-accessible is the step that moves Fabric IQ from a Fabric-specific feature into shared infrastructure for multi-vendor agent deployments. Netz was explicit about the design intent.”It doesn’t really matter whose agent it is, how it was built, what the role is,” Netz said. “There’s certain common knowledge, certain common context that all the agents will share.”That shared context is also where Netz draws a clear line between what the ontology does and what RAG does. He did not dismiss retrieval-augmented generation as a technique — he placed it specifically. RAG handles large document bodies such as regulations, company handbooks and technical documentation, where on-demand retrieval is more practical than loading everything into context.

“We don’t expect humans to remember everything by heart,” he said. “When somebody asks a question, you have to know to go and do a little bit of a search, find the right relevant part and bring it back.”But RAG does not solve for real-time business state, he argued. It does not tell an agent which planes are in the air right now, whether a crew has enough rest hours, or what the current priority is on a given product line.

“The mistake of the past was they thought one technology can just give you everything,” Netz said. “The cognitive model of the agents is similar to humans. You have to have things that are available out of memory, things that are available on demand, things that are constantly observed and detected in real time.”The execution gap analysts say Microsoft still has to closeIndustry analysts see the logic behind Microsoft’s direction but have questions about what comes next.Robert Kramer, analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, noted that Microsoft’s broad stack gives it a structural advantage in the race to become the default platform for enterprise agent deployments. “Fabric ties into Power BI, Microsoft 365, Dynamics and Azure services. That gives Microsoft a natural path to connect enterprise data with business users, operational workflows and now AI systems operating across that environment,” he said. The trade-off, Kramer said, is that Microsoft is competing across a wider surface area than Databricks or Snowflake, which built their reputations on depth of the data platform itself.The more immediate question for data teams, Kramer said, is whether MCP access actually reduces integration work.”Most enterprises do not operate in a single AI environment. Finance might be using one set of tools, engineering another, supply chain something else,” Kramer told VentureBeat. “If Fabric IQ can act as a common data context layer those agents can access, it starts to reduce some of the fragmentation that typically shows up around enterprise data.”But, he said, “If it just adds another protocol that still requires a lot of engineering work, adoption will be slower.”Whether the engineering work is the harder problem is open to debate. Independent analyst Sanjeev Mohan, told VentureBeat, that the bigger challenge is organizational, not technical. “I don’t think they fully understand the implications yet,” he said of enterprise data teams. “This is a classical capabilities overhang — capabilities are expanding faster than people’s imagination to use them. The harder work will be ensuring that the context layer is reliable and trustworthy.”Holger Mueller, principal analyst at Constellation Research, sees MCP as the right mechanism but urges caution on execution.

“For enterprise to benefit from AI, they need to get access to their data — that is in many places unorganized, siloed — and they want that in a way that makes it easy for AI in a standard way to get there. That is what MCP does,” Mueller told VentureBeat. “The devil is in the details. How good is the access, how well does it perform and what does it cost. Access and governance still need to be sorted out.”The Database Hub and the competitive pictureThe Fabric IQ announcements arrive alongside the Database Hub, now in early access, which brings Azure SQL, Azure Cosmos DB, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQL Server under a single management and observability layer inside Fabric. The intent is to give data operations teams one place to monitor, govern and optimize their database estate without changing how each service is deployed.Devin Pratt, research director at IDC, said the integrated direction tracks with where the broader market is heading. IDC expects that by 2029, 60% of enterprise data platforms will unify transactional and analytical workloads.

“Microsoft’s angle is to bring more of those pieces together in one coordinated approach, while rivals are moving along similar lines from different starting points,” Pratt told VentureBeat.What this means for enterprise data teamsFor data engineers responsible for making pipelines AI-ready, the practical implication of this week’s announcements is a shift in where the hard work lives.

Connecting data sources to a platform is a solved problem. Defining what that data means in business terms, and making that definition consistently available to every agent that queries it, is not.That shift has a concrete implication for data professionals. The semantic layer — the ontology that maps business entities, relationships and operational rules — is becoming production infrastructure. It will need to be built, versioned, governed and maintained with the same discipline as a data pipeline. That is a new category of responsibility for data engineering teams, and most organizations have not yet staffed or structured for it.The broader trend this week’s announcements reflect is that the data platform race in 2026 is no longer primarily about compute or storage. It is about which platform can deliver the most reliable shared context to the widest range of agents.

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Global crude prices inched up early on Wednesday—after recovering from a dip overnight—as Iraq signed a deal to resume oil exports through Turkey.

Peloton has had a tough year. In 2025, the company revealed it would overhaul its equipment for the AI era. One of the core components of the plan involved existing Peloton owners attaching cameras to their bikes and treadmills that would allow them to integrate with the new software updates. But in the lead-up to the release, the company realized its plan would involve too many alterations to the legacy machines, making it impractical to include them in the plan.So instead, Peloton released a slew of five new machines with major price increases. Customers and investors weren’t impressed with the new machines or the failed plans to include legacy products, and, according to Bloomberg, the company’s stock has plummeted by 60% since the October announcement. Now, the company is spinning off in a new direction in hopes of turning its fortunes around.Peloton is entering the commercial marketUp until this point, Peloton (PTON) had largely made its machines for the home gym. But earlier this month, the company announced it would be pivoting into the commercial space.“I’ve had the chance of speaking with the CEOs of a number of gyms, gym operators or big-box operators over the last year,” Peloton CEO Peter Stern told CNBC. “The one brand their members asked for, and therefore that they are asking for it, ‘Find a way to get me Peloton equipment.’”More retail:68-year-old clothing giant files Chapter 11 bankruptcyDollar Tree adds confusing new pricing planMichaels adds new perks for loyal shoppersPeloton does have an existing commercial unit, which it launched in 2025 after acquiring equipment maker Percor. However, the bikes, treadmills, and rowing machines made by that unit have thus far only been placed in hotel chains including Hilton and Hyatt. With this new move, Peloton is positioning itself to appear in gym chains across the country. Through its partnership with Percor, the company has access to a massive commercial distribution network that spans nearly 60 countries.Stern did not provide additional details about the expansion, such as which gyms are interested in purchasing the equipment or what price points these heavy-duty versions would land at. He did, however, tell CNBC that he expects them to be priced “competitively.” 

Peloton plans to pivot into the commercial space.Getty Images

Peloton has been facing declining revenuesDuring the company’s Q2 FY2026 earnings call in February, Peloton reported a 3% decline in total revenues year over year. A portion of that decline was explained by fewer equipment sales to existing members and delayed deliveries. Revenues weren’t Peloton’s only challenge over the past few months. Other notable changes include the following.A 7% year-over-year decline in paid memberships at the end of Q2 FY2026An average monthly paid Connected Fitness subscription churn of 1.9%, up 0.5% year over yearA 4% drop, or $9 million decrease, in year-over-year Connected Fitness products revenueSubscription revenue declines of 2% or $8 million, year over yearA drop in full-year revenue expectations to $2.4 billion
Source: Peloton
Related: Walmart pricing change may be more than meets the eyeAnd in yet another sign that the company has hit some speed bumps, Peloton laid off 11% of its workforce in January 2026.“As part of our previously announced $100 million cost savings plan, we shared that we’d be optimizing indirect spend, reshaping our teams and, in some cases, the locations where we work,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Our recent actions evolve our operational footprint and create efficiencies that enable us to continue investing in areas that support our return to growth.”Gym memberships are on the risePeloton’s movement into the commercial space may not be a bad gamble.According to the Health & Fitness Association’s 2025 US Health & Fitness Consumer Report, gyms, studios, and other fitness facilities served a record 96 million customers in 2024. Of those regular gymgoers, some 43.4% of members reported the treadmill was their most-used piece of equipment, making it the most popular modality used in these spaces.While Peloton may face some resistance from gyms that would prefer to promote their own, in-house classes and programs, Stern told CNBC he isn’t all that worried about it.“I need to leave how gyms react to that up to them,” he told the outlet. “But if you look at a typical gym floor, they’ve got Bikes, Treads and lots of other equipment that’s out there. We’re just now giving them a better experience for customers on those Bikes and on those Treads.”Related: Bath & Body Works makes big change customers will notice right away

The committee highlighted that the fast payment traits of crypto, along with tools like mixers, tumblers, and AI-assisted splitting of payments below the £500 reporting threshold.

Multiply raises $9.5 million to bring AI driven self learning advertising to B2B, using CRM and sales data to continuously optimize campaigns on Google and LinkedIn.

Most proptech companies built their business models around agents and brokerages, not the actual end users trying to buy or sell a home.

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealMost of us are familiar with the popular saying, “out of sight, out of mind,” and while some might use that to refer to a person or a situation, we like to think that way when it comes to the clutter in our home. When it comes to most of our everyday household items, we want them tucked away neatly, not strewn about across our countertops, couches, end tables and more. The occasional mess is inevitable, but just because we have a crowded kitchen area, living room, or garage doesn’t mean we have to settle or accept seeing that mess strewn about our home on a day to day basis. With the right storage setup, you don’t have to worry about pantry items, dry food products, tools, toys, and other items taking over your spaces and leaving you overwhelmed. There are a ton of sleek solutions that offer space and also look good that you can invest in to keep the clutter out of sight, and Walmart is the most recent retailer offering a great sale on a heavy-duty unit.The bestselling Kooyon Store Pantry Storage Cabinet is 45% off right now. You can get the four-tiered cabinet, which usually sells for $220, for just $120 — and save yourself a whole lot of stress when it comes to keeping an organized home. Kooyon Store Two-Door Pantry Storage Cabinet, $120 (was $220) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at WalmartWhy do shoppers love it?This unit comes in a few different styles, and although the others are more ideal for narrower spaces, this two-door has more space to hold your essentials if you can fit the dimensions. Measuring 27.55 inches long, 13.78 inches wide, and 61.02 inches high, this cabinet is made of thickened cold-rolled steel plate with an electrostatic powder spraying. This gives the unit its superior strength, which can hold a total of 720 pounds of weight at once, while also giving it a sleek enhanced surface finish and making it anti-rust, corrosion-resistant, and easy to clean.The interior has four separate shelves, which individually can hold up to 180 pounds of weight each. Three of the shelves are adjustable, so you can store larger items and customize the unit yourself to best suit your needs. The unit has two doors with gold metal hardware handles that keep items out of site but ensure easy access whenever you need them. The doors actually have two magnetic suction devices that keep it securely closed so that items stay preserved and the doors can’t just fall or blow open.Although this unit is advertised primarily as a pantry cabinet for the kitchen, it works pretty much in any room. You can use it for dry ingredients or kitchen appliances like an air fryer or microwave, for supplies in a home office, or even cleaning supplies and laundry items in a mudroom or laundry room. Heck, maybe you need something to help organize the mess of items strewn about in your garage. Either way, it’s a great storage option for pretty much anything. Related: Amazon is selling a storage cabinet for just $37 that fits perfectly into small spacesIt’s available with gold hardware in both black and white although prices may vary slightly. Assembly is required, but instructions and the installation video make it easy to put together on your own. It even includes an anti-topling device which helps safely attach it to the wall.Details to knowMaterial: Metal.Dimensions:The two-door cabinet measures 27.55 inches long, 13.78 inches wide, and 61.02 inches high.Colors: Two. Prices may vary.Style options: Three.Weight capacity: Each shelf can hold up to 180 pounds. Not only is it super easy to put together, but shoppers also love how sturdy and useful this cabinet is. Shoppers say it has a “beautiful design” that looks great and works perfectly. “It is heavy duty and versatile,” one shopper said. It provides a lot of great storage space and its simple design makes it work well in any kind of room. Shop more deals Homfa 71-Inch Bookcase With Drawers, $150 (was $210) at WalmartZunmos 5-Drawer Fabric Dresser, $39 (was $50) at WalmartCookcok 5-Tier Storage Shelving Unit, $49 (was $130) at WalmartThanks to the Kooyon Store Pantry Storage Cabinet, you don’t have to constantly struggle with finding enough space to store your miscellaneous items. Keep your items organized and in one easy to access place for only $120 right now.