IDC announced that enterprises will spend US$143 billion on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) solutions in 2027. Statistics found that global enterprises will invest US$16 billion in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 73.3%.The analyst firm stated that GenAI is not a fleeting trend or hype. In fact, the technology will have far-reaching significance and business impact. This technology will change the way we work, entertain and interact with the world.
When breaking down GenAI spending, GenAI services spending is expected to exceed infrastructure spending by the end of the forecast. IDC also said that the GenAI software segment will experience the fastest growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 96.4% during this period, followed by GenAI application development and deployment and application software, with a CAGR of 82.7%.
Commenting on the research results, Rick Villars, group vice president of IDC Global Research, believes that the growth rate of GenAI spending will remain stable globally:
Through 2025, the pace of GenAI spending will be somewhat constrained by shifting workloads and turbulent resource allocations, not just in terms of silicon but also in terms of networks, facilities, model confidence and AI skills. Other factors that could constrain expected investment rates include pricing, concerns about privacy and security, and the possibility of an existential crisis that could trigger consumer backlash or government intervention.
Given the spending growth predicted by IDC, this could mean we'll see generative AI used more widely across a variety of products. We’re already seeing tech companies integrating AI into their search products, and as more large-scale language models become available, a host of AI applications will emerge.
Companies such as Google and GitHub are providing artificial intelligence-assisted coding software, and GenAI is also making its way into office tools to help people improve their work. We'll have to wait and see how other companies that aren't traditionally considered technology companies take advantage of this technology in the coming years.