A new IDC AInomics study predicts a significant jump in investments in artificial intelligence (AI) in 2025. AI is expected to grow at least threefold and account for a significant share of companies’ total budgets. The key driver of this growth will be generative AI.
Research details
The study, conducted by IDC with Lenovo’s support, covered the EMEA region and was based on a survey of 620 business leaders from leading companies.
The survey results show that 94% of AI projects have met or exceeded company expectations.
72% of businesses planning to scale their AI initiatives intend to use professional AI services.
Investment growth forecast
AI investments are expected to grow by 104% in 2025. This optimistic forecast is based on the fact that more and more companies see tangible benefits of AI for their business.
Shifting priorities
As investments in AI increase, priorities are also changing. Generative AI will become a key development area over the next 12 months, and its share will almost quadruple from 12% to 44%.
Other areas of investment
Previously, the largest investment area was applications with built-in AI. Now, companies are focusing their spending on the development and management of AI models – 32%.
Challenges
Despite the optimistic sentiment, the surveyed companies highlighted their challenges when implementing AI. The main ones are difficulties with scaling (30%) and data quality issues (29%).
