95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing to deliver measurable returns
95% failure rate
Industry Intelligence
The data behind the
AI value gap.
Every number on this page is sourced from published research by McKinsey, Gartner, Deloitte, Harvard Business Review, MIT, and IDC. This is the landscape VPL was built to address.
The Scale
$500 billion wasted. In a single year.
80% of organizations report no tangible effect on enterprise EBIT from generative AI investments
Zero EBIT impact
Of $684B invested globally in AI, over $500B failed to produce measurable business value
$500B+ wasted
50% of generative AI projects abandoned after proof of concept due to poor data, rising costs, or unclear value
50% abandoned post-POC
42% of companies abandoned most of their AI initiatives in 2025 — up from 17% in 2024
2.5x increase in abandonment
Only 1% of business leaders describe their generative AI rollouts as "mature" despite widespread investment
1% maturity rate
Root Causes
Why AI initiatives fail.
60%
Projects fail due to data that isn't AI-ready (Gartner)
85%
of orgs misestimate AI costs by 10%+ (industry data)
$5.5T
Global cost of AI skills gap by 2026 (IDC)
35%
of leaders feel they've prepared employees for AI (industry survey)
The pattern is consistent across industries: organizations invest aggressively in AI tools but neglect the infrastructure required to extract value. Data quality, technical maturity, and skills readiness are the three most-cited barriers — and all three are addressable with the right methodology.
Harvard Business Review reports that 71% of CIOs say their AI budgets will be frozen or cut if value can't be demonstrated within two years. The window for experimentation is closing. The firms that deploy systematically now will compound their advantage.
The Opportunity
What the top performers prove is possible.
Companies that deploy AI systematically see $3.70 returned for every $1 invested
3.7x average ROI
66% of enterprise AI adopters report measurable productivity and efficiency gains
66% see productivity gains
Financial services early movers achieve 4.2x ROI — the highest of any sector
4.2x financial services ROI
59% of healthcare early adopters expect 20%+ cost savings within 2–3 years
20%+ cost reduction
69% of retailers using AI report revenue growth, with 15% seeing gains above 15%
Revenue growth in retail
Only 6% of organizations qualify as "AI high performers" — proving a systematic approach is the differentiator
6% high-performer threshold
Market Trajectory
Spending accelerates. The methodology gap widens.
$301B
Projected global AI spend in 2026 (IDC)
$632B
Global AI spend by 2028 (IDC)
$72.8B
AI consulting market by 2030 (31.6% CAGR)
45%
of orgs plan $100K+/mo AI spend (up from 20%)
Sources
McKinsey: The State of AI (2025) · Gartner: AI Project Readiness & Abandonment (2025) · Deloitte: State of AI in the Enterprise (2026) · Harvard Business Review: AI Returns & Value Capture (2026) · MIT / Fortune: Gen AI Pilot Performance (2025) · IDC: AI Skills Gap Analysis (2026) · ResearchAndMarkets: AI Consulting Market Forecast (2025–2030)
Be in the 6%, not the 95%.
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