AI is changing the way industries function, compete and grow

Digital solutions powered by AI or “artificial intelligence” are not only finding their place at the heart of the world’s industrial and manufacturing complex, but look set to transform the way industries function, compete and achieve growth. If that’s something we can expect from their current level of technological proliferation.

In 2024, the industrial AI and automation sector was valued at least $200 billionbased on a range of valuation methodologies deployed by multiple consultancies and data aggregators. Investments in key industrial AI solutions accounted for over a fifth of that total figure. according to some forecasters.

Looking ahead, spending on industrial AI is expected to reach $400 billion, if not more, by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of at least 8%, depending on which forecaster you rely on.

Moreover, it is not just financial data on industrial AI that is indicative of the approaching horizon: habits, dependencies and processes are evolving rapidly.

A billion-dollar battle

According to Schneider Electric, one of the world’s largest energy management and industrial automation companies, AI usage in organizations has grown by 78% when this year’s data is compared to 2020 usage levels.

And there will be three times as many people using AI tools in 2025 as in 2020, the company said at the recently concluded Innovation Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.

At the event, Schneider Electric CEO Olivier Blum also predicted the deployment of three times as many IoT or “internet of things” devices that rely on AI by the end of the decade. There are two types of AI: generative and agentic.

Generative AI systems are able to use models that learn from the characteristics and structures of input data to produce customized results. Agentic AI goes beyond simply responding to instructions to being proactive and capable of solving complex problems with limited human intervention.

As generative AI becomes more prominent in the industrial discourse, Abu Dhabi state energy company ADNOC surprised the energy sector by announcing in November last year that it had started a pilot to deploy agentic AI in partnership with Microsoft and AiQ.

But not surprisingly, major industrial software vendors ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Schneider Electric and Yokogawa are all already competing fiercely in a fast-growing, multibillion-dollar market for AI-powered platforms that deliver intelligent operating ecosystems, real-time insights, system resilience and, of course, throughput efficiency.

Not just industries, entire countries are working on it

As the AI ​​race continues, not only industries, but entire countries are involved. All G7 countries have made overt moves toward AI infrastructure, and within the OECD, nearly all governments have done so, along with China and India.

Entire supercomputers are deployed in the service of AI. Denmark offers the latest example. It launched its first AI supercomputer Gefion, a NVIDIA DGX SuperPODnamed after a goddess from Danish mythology, in October 2024.

It is managed by the Danish Center for AI Innovation, a company funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and by the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.

Dr. Nadia Carlsten, CEO of DCAI, said her team’s core focus is to lower the barrier to access to AI. “We welcome customers not only from the corporate world, but also from startups and academia, with the relevant safeguards. The first onboarding started in January.

“Our ultimate goal is not only the accessibility of AI, but also the acceleration of AI research, innovation and broader collaboration that is urgently needed in this space across Europe in general, and Denmark in particular.”

DCAI is now scaling up the system, both in size and the types of AI-enabled services it offers, said Ali Syed, SVP Infrastructure, DCAI.

“Ultimately, we aim to build an ecosystem of Danish companies that can help both fuel and leverage this infrastructure, while remaining competitive in a vibrant but tough AI landscape.”

The supercomputer is powered by 1,528 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs and interconnected via NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking. Schneider Electric is focusing on the ‘chip to chilling’ aspect of Gefion as a DCAI partner, says Sebastian Bøtcher, Secure Power sales director at Schneider Electric Denmark.

“As a provider of energy management and digital solutions, we help build new data centers of the future. We are trusted advisors to DCAI and have been working together for three years.”

Bøtcher added that the lessons from projects like Gefion were “mission critical” because more than 50% of data center growth in the past five years was driven by AI.

Industrial AI spending in sectors such as automotive, pharmaceutical and urban planning is growing dramatically. Current trends indicate that energy companies are no longer reluctant, albeit after a relatively slow start compared to other sectors.

The world’s largest energy event goes big with AI

All of the world’s top 20 integrated oil and gas, energy and utilities, and renewable energy companies, as measured by market capitalization, have an AI strategy.

This stimulates sustainability and efficiency in traditional energy and increases the profile and performance of climate technology. Improved throughput at refineries, predictive maintenance at power plants, optimized oil flow rates from platforms to pipelines and smart grids are just a few demonstrable cross-industry use cases.

That’s why ADIPEC, one of the world’s largest energy events, to be held in Abu Dhabi from November 3 to 6, has been continuously expanding its AI exhibition space and conference content for several years, said Christopher Hudson, president of dmgevents, the event organizer.

“We have always had a huge digitalization exhibition hall that has been growing for a number of years. Recently, however, AI has taken off in a big way and that is reflected in what we are doing at ADIPEC.”

Hudson said the event’s dedicated “AI Zone” will demonstrate the “integral and transformative role” of AI solutions in the energy and industrial space, through a fully immersive experience. “It will explore how intelligence – both human and artificial – is redefining energy systems, empowering people and enabling bold, cross-sector disruption.”

The exhibition space allocated to the zone will increase to 3,150 square meters this year, compared to last year’s 2,275 square meters. “That is a dedicated space on top of the exhibition areas of the world’s leading industrial software suppliers who are showcasing their own AI solutions at their respective exhibition centers around ADIPEC.”

Co-host AiQ and strategic AI partners ranging from IBM and Microsoft to EY and SLB were expected to collaborate with numerous startups at the event.

There is no shortage of enthusiasts and skeptics alike when it comes to AI. However, none of this feels like a fad or a bubble about to burst. Rather, it increasingly appears to be an indicator of the inexorable direction of the journey toward an AI-based future.