Companies are investing billions of dollars in AI, yet only a few are actually seeing the payoff.
BCG’s 2025 AI Value Gap study, which looked at 1,250 firms, found that:
- Only 5% of companies are realizing AI value at scale.
- A whopping 60% report little or no ROI despite significant investments.
- About a third, 35% are scaling AI, but most admit progress is too slow.
While most companies are still struggling, the ‘future-built’ leaders are pulling away. Here are the numbers to back this claim: ,:
- They’re seeing 1.7× higher revenue growth and 1.6× stronger EBIT margins than peers
- They invest 26% more in IT spending and 64% more of IT budgets are dedicated to AI
- They’re already ahead of the next wave, capturing 17% of AI value from agentic AI, a figure is expected to nearly double to 29% by 2028
This creates a self-reinforcing cycle: early movers accelerate value, reinvest gains, and widen the gap, leaving laggards further behind.
A strategic inflection point for leaders
For Innovation, M&A, and Business Development leaders, AI is no longer just a technology challenge. Ai has now become a strategic inflection point. The questions you ask today will shape your organization’s competitiveness tomorrow. Which disruptors should you be spotting early? How do you benchmark the AI maturity of partners, acquisition targets, or even direct competitors? And most importantly, where is AI generating measurable ROI versus hype?
From questions to actionable intelligence
At FounderNest, we help leaders cut through the noise with our AI Market Intelligence Analyst (AMIA) platform. Instead of relying on scattered data and gut instinct, teams gain a clear, evidence-based view of the landscape. You can identify emerging AI-powered companies and technologies before they hit the mainstream, or what you would find in traditional databases. You can benchmark competitors and acquisition targets on their AI maturity, giving you a sharper edge in dealmaking and strategy. And you can track where AI investments are translating into real growth and margins, instead of just inflated press releases or noise.
Closing the AI value gap
The ‘AI value gap’ is the divide between companies that capture real business impact from AI and those that don’t. This gap is already widening at unprecedented rates. A small group of leaders is accelerating ahead, reinvesting their gains, and shaping the competitive playing field for years to come. Meanwhile, laggards risk falling further behind with every quarter that passes.
The urgency of now to harness AI
This moment demands more than experimentation. It requires a deliberate strategy to harness AI as a driver of innovation, growth, and sourcing high-potential companies. With FounderNest, you can turn intelligence into action and close the AI value gap before it closes on you. The leaders are already pulling away. The question is: how will you ensure your organization isn’t left behind?
