Over 50% of manufacturers allocate $2 million per AI implementation, says Infosys

Bengaluru: Over 50% of manufacturers allocate more than $2 million per AI implementation. Infosys has released its inaugural Manufacturing Tech Index: AI Pulse, which shows a clear evolution in AI deployment among enterprises. It said AI is no longer a differentiator as it is now core to manufacturing strategy.

"A median investment of $2 million to $2.5 million per AI initiative reflects a clear commitment to deploying AI at production scale," the report said.

The research study developed by Infosys Knowledge Institute, the research and thought leadership arm of the IT services giant, highlighted AI’s rapid transition from experimentation to enterprise imperative and the challenges that continue to shape adoption at scale.

Unlike enterprise IT or analytics use cases, cost isn't driven solely from model acquisition, but from embedding into physical operations and from data engineering, system integration, and workforce enablement, it said.

The report added that companies that achieve early results, reinvest and expand successful AI use cases. It also pointed out that AI adoption is highest in cybersecurity and operational technology (OT) systems. However, cybersecurity also stands out as the top barrier to scaling AI, with risk expected to increase as IT and OT environments converge.

The IT company's clients have now started to launch AI in sales, services and aftermarket to meet customer experiences. One in five AI initiatives have started to meet business objectives, and manufacturers overall are investing heavily in AI, embedding AI in company strategy.

The report also added that to achieve more value from AI, companies must address cybersecurity and data challenges and prepare their workforce to use AI.

Interestingly, the cost of AI is cited as one of the biggest blockers to AI pursuits for many companies, but it is not so for manufacturers. Both cybersecurity (23%) and data (21%) have emerged as the top two barriers to AI scaling.

"The findings show a clear evolution in AI deployment. Manufacturers' confidence in AI is rising as they move from experimentation to operationalisation. The next frontier requires integrating AI into core processes and addressing foundational challenges such as cybersecurity and data readiness," Jasmeet Singh, Executive VP and Global Head, Manufacturing.