APAC leads global AI investment with 250% surge in spending
Asia Pacific tops global AI investment with USD 11.3 million average spend as companies worldwide increase budgets by 250%, widening the adoption gap between leaders and laggards.
New research from Rackspace Technology reveals a 250% year-on-year increase in global corporate AI investment, averaging USD $8.7 million, with Asia Pacific (APAC) leading at USD $11.3 million. The study surveyed 1,400 IT decision-makers, including 269 in APAC, highlighting a growing divide between AI Leaders (13% of respondents) and organizations still in the experimentation phase.
Key Findings
- AI Leaders (organizations embedding AI into core strategies) report 64% substantial benefits from deployments, compared to 32% for others.
- Leaders are 3x more likely to have AI agents in production and scale effectively.
- 95% of AI Leaders have strategic alignment on AI, and 75% have conducted workforce training.
"While nearly every organization is exploring AI, these forward-thinking companies are not waiting for the technology to mature—they have acted early," said Srini Koushik, President of AI, Technology, and Sustainability at Rackspace Technology.
Investment Trends
- 90% of APAC respondents expect increased AI spending over the next five years.
- Investment is split evenly between in-house AI solutions and third-party integrations.
- 65% of APAC firms anticipate a positive ROI within two years, with 26% projecting returns in 3-5 years.
AI Applications
- Customer experience is the top priority (90% of respondents), followed by employee productivity.
- 24% of businesses use AI to develop new products.
- Cybersecurity is both a top risk and a transformative AI application for the next 3-5 years.
Challenges
- 72% of APAC organizations struggle with scaling AI.
- 79% cite infrastructure investment as critical for scalable AI.
- Data privacy and regulatory compliance remain significant hurdles.
Competitive Advantage
- 87% of AI Leaders view AI as a fundamental competitive driver.
- Two-thirds report substantial benefits over the past year.
The research, conducted by Coleman Parkes Research, spans sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services, with companies ranging from 1,000 to 10,000+ employees and revenues of USD $50 million to $15 billion.
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Alex Thompson
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Senior technology editor specializing in AI and machine learning content creation for 8 years. Former technical editor at AI Magazine, now provides technical documentation and content strategy services for multiple AI companies. Excels at transforming complex AI technical concepts into accessible content.