Edge AI is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a core pillar of digital transformation for enterprises across industries. ZEDEDA’s inaugural Edge AI Survey, conducted in early 2025, offers a first-of-its-kind snapshot into how CIOs are deploying, investing in, and strategizing about edge AI. Here’s a high-level look at the most important findings:
Edge AI Moves from Experimentation to Execution
The survey of 301 U.S. CIOs reveals that edge AI is moving rapidly from theory to practice:
- 97% of CIOs have edge AI either already deployed or on their roadmap, with only 3% reporting no current plans to implement these technologies.
- 30% have fully deployed edge AI, while another 22% are in production with limited deployment. An additional 34% are testing with plans to deploy within the next 24 months.
- Retail and manufacturing lead the way: 50% of retail and 40% of manufacturing organizations report full deployment.
Budgets Reflect Edge AI’s Strategic Importance
Investment in edge AI is surging:
- 90% of organizations are increasing their edge AI budgets for 2025.
- 30% report significant increases (25% or more), and another 60% report moderate increases (<25%) compared to 2024.
- Larger enterprises (500+ employees) and manufacturing companies are especially aggressive, with 39% and 36% respectively reporting significant budget increases.
Customer Experience and Risk Management Lead Use Cases
Edge AI is already driving real business value:
- 80% of CIOs with deployed edge AI use it to enhance customer experience (e.g., retail store operations, display personalization, quality control).
- 77% leverage edge AI for risk management, including predictive maintenance and safety compliance.
- Looking ahead, cost reduction (74%) and risk management (73%) are the top priorities for future deployments in the next 12–24 months.
Learn how ZEDEDA can help leverage edge AI for worker safety in this video
Security: The Top Driver—and Challenge
Security is both a motivator and an obstacle:
- Improving security and data privacy is the No. 1 reason (53%) for investing in edge AI over cloud-based AI.
- Yet, security risks and data protection concerns (42%) are the most significant challenge for implementations, followed by high operational costs and talent shortages.
Multimodal AI Takes Center Stage
Organizations are seeking comprehensive AI solutions:
- 60% of CIOs are running or planning to run multimodal AI (combining speech, text, and vision) at the edge, nearly matching cloud adoption rates (59%).
- Speech recognition models (52%) and large language models (47%) are also popular for edge deployments.
Hybrid Strategies Dominate
Edge AI is not replacing the cloud; it’s complementing it:
- 54% of organizations say edge AI complements their cloud AI strategy for a hybrid approach.
- Nearly half (48%) are exploring edge AI to reduce cloud computing costs, and 44% see it as critical for real-time, low-latency processing.
Edge AI is reshaping the digital landscape. As organizations scale up investments and deployments, the opportunities-and challenges-will only grow. Stay tuned for more insights and best practices from ZEDEDA as we help enterprises unlock the full potential of the intelligent edge.
Learn more about the survey’s key findings at https://zededa.com/edge-ai-survey/.
