Accenture, Visa, Deutsche Telekom, and Bayer are leading the way when it comes to successfully integrating and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to boost business performance, according to the inaugural AI Maturity Index. The ranking reveals which of the world’s largest 200 companies are using AI technologies most extensively.
A barometer to gauge AI leaders and laggards
The Index, compiled by IMD’s TONOMUS Global Center for Digital and AI Transformation and launched at Web Summit in Lisbon, serves as a barometer to gauge artificial intelligence leaders and laggards. It evaluates AI maturity across five key dimensions – strong executive support, technology and infrastructure, operational excellence, workforce development and culture, and ethics and risk management.
Tech giants dominate but non-tech also rank in top 20
Tech companies dominate the top 20, with tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon in first, second, and third place. The surprising finding from the research, however, is how high several non-tech companies have ranked, including Accenture in seventh place, Visa in 12th place, Deutsche Telekom in 15th place, and Bayer in 20th place.
Michael Wade, IMD Professor and Director of the TONOMUS Global Center for Digital and AI Transformation, said: “It’s no surprise that tech titans lead the way, but the non-tech players are proving that AI is anyone’s game. The AI Maturity Index shows there is a massive disparity both between and within industries in how organizations have invested in and leveraged AI technologies to improve their business operations.”
AI leadership, integration and investment
Accenture announced a $3bn investment in its Data & AI practice in June 2023. The firm aims to double its AI talent to 80,000 professionals through hiring, acquisitions, and training. Accenture’s leadership in AI spans over a decade, with more than 1,450 patents and pending applications globally.
Visa has long integrated AI into its technology strategy, pioneering AI use in global payments since 1993 to enhance security and fight fraud. In recent years, it has heavily invested in AI, including a $100m fund for generative AI startups, and new AI tools for fraud detection.
Deutsche Telekom integrates AI extensively across its operations across finance, cybersecurity, and HR under CEO Timotheus Höttges. Committed to ethical AI usage, Deutsche Telekom published nine AI principles in 2018 addressing responsibility, transparency, and security. The company integrates digital ethics into product development and prioritizes employee education to build an AI-skilled workforce.
In 2022, Bayer invested $1.4bn in AI and data science to boost growth in its pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors. AI is used to speed up product development, improve manufacturing, optimize supply chains, and ensure safety and compliance. Bayer partnered with Salus Optima on AI-driven health solutions and with Google Cloud on drug discovery. In agriculture, AI helps reduce research cycles and predict the best-performing genetics and crops, minimizing the need for field testing.
