Fortune 500 companies continue to beef up AI budgets: Wedbush analysis

Good morning. CFOs are keen on determining the use cases for AI that deliver business value. And the process for doing so could be becoming less complicated. 
Wedbush Securities has been monitoring dozens of Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies over the past few weeks, according to a Monday investor note. Of the companies analyzed, overall, the firm estimates that AI now comprises roughly 12% of many IT budgets for 2025, up from 10% in January. In some cases, AI takes up to 15% of the budget, reflecting how many CIOs plan to accelerate their AI strategies over the next six to nine months. The companies analyzed were across verticals such as financial services, health care, transportation, logistics, manufacturing, software, and the services industry. 
“About 70% of customers we have spoken with heading down the AI path have accelerated their AI budget dollars and initiatives over the last six months,” according to the firm.
Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush, shared some insight about the research findings. In November and December, his firm found that customers were in the strategic planning stage for AI, Ives told me. But the application of the technology has picked up speed, he said. Enterprises are more readily identifying high-priority use cases, Ives said. He attributes that to tech companies like Palantir and Salesforce among others making use cases more evident, he noted.
Companies are also seemingly more knowledgeable about AI governance solutions and data security, especially when it comes to implementing generative AI. When the technology became widely popular in late 2022 due to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, many companies tread lightly at first, especially in the financial services sector. Another interesting finding: According to