IBM CEO Advocates AI Funding

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna is urging the current administration to increase federal funding for AI research and development. Krishna, like many tech leaders, believes that further investment in AI and related technologies is crucial for maintaining competitiveness and driving innovation. He suggests that AI is one of the unique technologies that can hit the intersection of productivity, cost savings and scaling the revenue of companies.

Krishna's call comes at a time when AI is rapidly evolving, with generative AI expected to build over a billion new applications by 2028. IBM itself is heavily invested in AI, with tools like watsonx Orchestrate enabling enterprises to deploy AI agents quickly. Krishna has observed the AI market maturing, with clients now focused on application layers to improve customer experiences and enterprise operations. IBM's AI portfolio is tailored to meet the diverse needs of enterprise clients, enabling them to leverage a mix of models.

IBM has realised $1.6 billion in cost efficiencies to date, with approximately half attributed to AI deployment and aims to achieve $3 billion in efficiencies by 2025. Krishna's advocacy for increased federal funding underscores the importance of AI as a driver of economic growth and technological advancement.