The value of the global AI services market is expected to hit US$500 billion by 2025. 

Analyst firm IDC says the global artificial intelligence (AI) services market was estimated to be worth US$19.4 billion in 2020, and is set to grow by 19.3 per cent by the end of 2021. 

But in the coming years, the analysts say the market segment is expected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 per cent, surpassing that of the software and hardware market segments. 

It is also predicted to grow faster than the overall market CAGR of 15.2 per cent during the period.

The bulk of this growth is not expected to take place until 2023. 

“AI has emerged as an essential component of the future enterprise, fuelling demand for services partners to help organisations clear the many hurdles standing between pilot projects and enterprise AI,” says Jennifer Hamel, research manager of IDG’s Analytics and Intelligent Automation Services programme. 

“Client demand for expertise in developing production-grade AI solutions and establishing the right organisation, platform, governance, business process, and talent strategies to ensure sustainable AI adoption at scale drives expansion across both IT services and business services segments.”

IBM, Accenture and Tata Consultancy Services are considered the top three companies for AI IT services revenue in 2020, together making up 26 per cent of the market share combined. 

The top AI business services businesses last year were Ernst & Young (EY), Accenture and Deloitte, making up a combined 46 per cent share of the subsegment.