Given the Replika debacle, I personally suspect the AI partner use case is not really very niche. Just few people openly want to talk about wanting it because having an emotional AI partner is seen as creepy.
And companies would not want to do that. Imagine you make partner AI that goes unhinged like Bing did and tells you to kill yourself or something similar. I can't imagine companies would want that kind of risk.
Who does your government and corporate email? In the UK it's all either Gmail (for government) and Outlook (NHS). For compliance reasons they simply want data center certification and location restrictions.
If you think a small corp is going to get a big gov contract outside of a nepo-state you're in for a shock.
And companies would not want to do that. Imagine you make partner AI that goes unhinged like Bing did and tells you to kill yourself or something similar. I can't imagine companies would want that kind of risk.