ABI Research Reports Industrial AI Activity Rose in 2025

ABI Research reported that industrial AI dealmaking and activity accelerated sharply in 2025, with tracked developments rising from 66 in 2024 to more than 210. The report attributes the increase to expanded efforts by manufacturers and technology providers across partnerships, acquisitions, investments, and internal initiatives.

ABI Research said the pattern reflected a shift beyond early exploration into broader commercialization, with generative AI, agentic AI, and physical AI cited as central to activity. The research also found that partnerships generated the highest transaction volume from 2023 through 2025, increasing from 34 in 2024 to roughly 120 in 2025.

The report quantified generative AI activity rising from fewer than 10 developments in 2023 and about 30 in 2024 to around 100 in 2025, while physical AI increased from about 30 activities in 2023 to roughly 60 in 2025. ABI Research also linked activity to practical business goals, including faster automation deployments, better process optimization, and tighter feedback loops between software intelligence and physical operations.

ABI Research’s data showed industrial machinery as the leading industry for AI activity in 2025 at 21% of announcements, ahead of electronics at 18%, and discrete manufacturing accounting for 70% of all AI-related activity. On the technology side, industrial automation led with 119 activities in 2025, compared with 90 for manufacturing software, while vendor activity cited NVIDIA with 56 total activities, Siemens with 42, and Microsoft with 41; the report also referenced Siemens’ $10.6 billion acquisition of Altair Engineering, Emerson’s $7.2 billion acquisition of AspenTech, and SoftBank’s $5.4 billion agreement to acquire ABB’s robotics division.

“Industrial AI is no longer confined to pilots and isolated experimentation,” said Ryan Martin, Senior Research Director at ABI Research. “The volume and composition of activity show that the market is prioritizing deployable outcomes, with partnerships scaling innovation while acquisitions secure the intellectual property and software capabilities needed to operationalize AI across industrial environments.” “As industrial companies push AI closer to production, the market will increasingly reward vendors that can connect models, engineering workflows, and factory systems in a deterministic and scalable way,” Martin said.

Provided by Globe Newswire on behalf of ABI Research. Click to read original content.