AI Beyond Platforms - How Data Will Unlock New Value In 2025
Jan 29, 2025 - forbes.com
In 2025, the AI landscape is transforming as it expands beyond foundational models and hardware into the application and data infrastructure layers. This shift is driving significant venture funding, which reached $99.6 billion in 2024, with a focus on applied AI in industries like autonomous driving, healthcare, and marketing. The application layer integrates AI into specific workflows, offering pre-built solutions that simplify adoption and deployment, while the data infrastructure layer emphasizes the importance of high-quality data for training accurate AI models. Companies like Exponential and Ereteam highlight the role of quality data in predictive analytics and economic forecasting, showcasing AI's potential to deliver early, actionable insights.
The emphasis on data quality and compliance with regulations is crucial as AI applications reshape industries, from retail and financial services to healthcare and marketing. The White House's Stargate initiative, a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure for healthcare, underscores AI's transformative potential. As AI moves deeper into these new layers, the focus is on solving real-world problems and generating measurable outcomes, marking a shift from traditional SaaS to AI-driven solutions. This evolution signifies a new era of AI-driven success, where technology delivers practical impact and redefines business operations.
Key takeaways:
AI is expanding into the application and data infrastructure layers, transforming business operations and decision-making.
Venture funding for AI surged to $99.6 billion in 2024, with a focus on applied AI and industry-specific solutions.
High-quality data is crucial for effective AI applications, with zero-party data playing a pivotal role in predictive analytics.
Agentic AI is emerging as a new frontier, enabling AI to autonomously handle complex workflows and decision-making.
