Corporate AI Investment Jumps 500%, Reaching $13.8B

New report shows 58% of companies are reallocating funds from permanent budgets to support AI initiatives.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) investment is poised for remarkable growth in 2024, with businesses expected to collectively spend $13.8 billion — a staggering 500% increase from the $2.3 billion invested in 2023.

This surge, detailed in the latest report from Menlo Ventures, underscores a major change in how enterprises across various industries are adopting and integrating AI technologies, reflecting both new opportunities and challenges for AI use in the future of work.

The Menlo report showed that 72% of business decision-makers anticipate greater AI adoption in the coming years. At the same time, businesses are increasingly focused on ensuring a return on investment (ROI) for AI tools, with 60% of spending drawn from innovation budgets.

In addition, 58% of companies are reallocating funds from permanent budgets to support AI initiatives.

The report also revealed the industries leading the way in AI investment, with healthcare, legal, financial services, and media/entertainment at the forefront.

Healthcare alone is set to invest $500 million in AI, while legal firms are expected to spend $350 million. Financial services and media/entertainment are investing $100 million each in AI-driven solutions.

This accelerated uptick in AI adoption is not only reshaping industries but also creating new demands for skilled talent.

As AI technology becomes a central part of business strategies, companies will need to focus on hiring data scientists and AI experts. There is an urgent need to upskill existing employees to adapt to AI tools, ensuring they can contribute effectively to the AI-driven transformation.

At the same time, experts caution against laying off employees in the name of restructuring. Instead, businesses should prioritize upskilling their workforce.

The Menlo report also indicates a transformation in the AI market itself.

OpenAI’s market share has dropped from 50% to 34%, while Anthropic has seen its share double from 12% to 24%.

The survey of 600 enterprise IT decision-makers reveals that one of the dominant uses of AI across industries is in code generation, demonstrating its growing role in software development and automation.

As businesses prepare for a future driven by AI, the report suggests that investing in sustainable AI solutions and aligning them with long-term strategic goals will be key to maintaining a competitive edge.