The state of AI acquisitions 2021-2023: Big Tech leading the charge

AI
Artificial Intelligence
Acquire
Acquisitions
Deals
M&A

Nikita Singh

This report focuses on analysis of Artificial Intelligence (AI) acquisitions completed between January 2021 to December 2023. A total of 461 AI deals have been analysed during this period based on the deal count, deal value, sector, geographies of the buyer and target company, and the focus area of the acquisition.

Accenture
Accolite Digital
Airbnb
Alphabet
Alphawave IP Group
Alter
Apple
Applica
Arcion
Arq Group
Attain
Banias Lab
BD
Becton
Dickinson and Co.
Bio Pharmaceutical New Technologies (BioNTech)
Bionic.ai
Blue Yonder
BYJU’S
Capgemini
Casetext
Chorus.AI
Cloudmed
Cobwebs Technologies
Corvus Insurance Holdings
Inc.
Crowdstrike
Databricks
Datasys Group
Inc.
DiA Imaging Analysis
Digital Ocean
DoubleVerify
Francisco Partners and TPG
GamePlanner.AI
GeoPhy
Ginkgo Bioworks
Hyperconnect
InstaDeep
Light Years Beyond
LoopMe
Match Group
Maximus
Mayfair Equity Partners
Meituan
Microsoft
Mode Analytics
Mosaic ML
Motion Metrics
MTS AI (Intema)
Myst AI
Naver
NCS Group
Neeva
Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc.
Netcore Cloud
New Mountain Capital
New Relic
NextGen Healthcare
NRG Energy
Nuance Communications
PAIR Finance
Panasonic
Paperspace
Parata Systems
PenLink
Pollen Street Capital
Poshmark
R1 RCM
Royal Philips
Scholr
Scibids Technology
Siemens
Sisu Data
Snowflake
Telus International
The Travelers Companies
Inc.
Thoma Bravo
Thomson Reuters
Thoughtspot
Unbxd Inc.
Vision Labs
Vivint Smart Home
Walker and Dunlop
Weir Group
Willow Tree
ZoomInfo
ZS Associates
Zymergen

Artificial Intelligence

Growth in Artificial Intelligence forces vendors to refocus on sustainability

Artificial Intelligence
AI
Machine Learning
ML
chatbots
LLM
generative AI
sustainability
data centre
data center
AI training
AI inference
large language models
carbon emissions
nuclear energy
power purchase agreements
natural language processing
image generation
power usage effectiveness (PUE)
water usage effectiveness (WUE)
Ireland
renewable energy
net zero
graphic processing units (GPUs)
ChatGPT

Suruchi Dhingra

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing technology with a widespread impact. Its implementation can be seen all around us from chatbots to autonomous vehicles. AI developments are on course to improve operational efficiency, bring labour productivity, and boost economies. However, the negative environmental impacts of AI are often hidden from public view and the technology can have socioeconomic and sustainability implications and hinder the clean energy ambitions of tech giants. Google and Microsoft, both have reported a significant surge in their carbon emissions in the last five years, largely attributed to increase in their data centre energy consumption as a consequence of infusing AI into their core products. AI has been used for decades but the question around its impact on the environment has arisen in recent years since the techniques or AI models developed now use a vast amount of data, significant computational power and are becoming far more complex and widespread. This was triggered by the generative AI boom and mass adoption of large language model-based products like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and others in the second half of 2022 . These recent AI models are fed with diverse and large data sets to bring more accuracy and robustness, and work with low latency. This requires extensive storage and powerful processing, thus escalating electricity demand and carbon emissions. Microsoft, for example, had a stable increase of carbon emissions for many years but has reported a significant increase of 29% in carbon emissions since 2020, mostly due to its data centre expansions that were designed to support AI workloads. Another tech giant, Google, has also been facing challenges due to increased electricity demand driven by AI. It saw a rise of 48% in its carbon emissions since 2019, driven by data centres and supply chain emissions. This is clearly a challenge to the ambitions of any AI company that is aiming to becoming carbon neutral. In this report, we summarise our findings on the environmental impact of AI and we highlight some of the initiatives that are being taken by AI companies and cloud providers to offset related carbon emissions.

Amazon
Amazon Web Services
Google
Meta
Microsoft
OpenAI

Artificial Intelligence
Hyperconnectivity
Internet of Things

Information & Communication

Building Automation: 2.4 billion connected devices, key to enabling sustainable living

Internet of Things
IoT
Hyperconnectivity
Smart Building
Smart Home
Air Quality Monitoring
Smart City
Smart Water
Water Leak Detectors
Flood Detectors
Home Automation
Building Automation

Suruchi Dhingra
Matt Arnott
Rohan Bansal

This report summarises the status and forecasts from the Building Automation Application Group found in the Transforma Insights Connected Things IoT forecast. The report provides a description of what is covered in the Application Group, as well as top-level figures from the forecast that provide detail on how many connected devices will be installed, the types of communication technology used and the total revenue opportunity.

ABB
ADT
Aeroqual
Amazon
Arlo Technologies
Climax Technology
Emerson Electric
Flo by Moen
Honeywell
Johnsons Controls
Resideo
Samsung SmartThings
Schneider Electric
Siemens
The Genie Company
The Water Scrooge
Vivint

Hyperconnectivity
Internet of Things

Consumer
Real Estate
Manufacturing
Retail & Wholesale
Accommodation & Food Service

CCTV: 573 million devices being used for surveillance purposes

CCTV
Public Surveillance Cameras
Public Safety
Smart City
Smart CCTV
5G
Network Cameras
Traffic Monitoring
Security Cameras
Surveillance

Suruchi Dhingra
Rohan Bansal
Matt Arnott

This report summarises the status and forecasts from the CCTV Application Group found in the Transforma Insights Connected Things IoT forecast. The report provides a description of what is covered in the Application Group, as well as top-level figures from the forecast that provide detail on how many connected devices will be installed, the types of communication technology used and the total revenue opportunity. Full details are accessible through the TAM Forecast tool.

Axis Communications
Bosch Security
Briefcam
Cisco
CP Plus
CrowdOptic
Dahua Security
GateKeepr
Huawei
Hikvision
Hi-Focus
Honeywell Security
IBM
Infinova
Jabil
Microsoft
NEC
Palantir
Panasonic
ZTE

Internet of Things
Hyperconnectivity
Artificial Intelligence
Edge Computing

Government

HVAC: 775 million connected devices by 2033, generating USD40 billion in revenue

HVAC
Air Conditioning
AC
Ventilation
Heating
Sustainability
Smart Thermostats
Heat pumps
Chillers
Smart Home
Building Automation

Suruchi Dhingra
Matt Arnott
Nikita Singh

This report provides Transforma Insights’ view on the connected HVAC market. This includes smart and connected heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, in consumer as well as enterprise contexts. The smart HVAC market is expected to show strong growth over the coming years, majorly due to an increased focus on sustainability, and upcoming regulations focused on increasing energy efficiency and decreasing carbon emissions caused by buildings.

Daikin
Danfoss
Haier
Honeywell
Johnsons Controls
Resideo
Tuya Smart

Internet of Things
Hyperconnectivity

Consumer

Personal Portable Electronics: Rising demand for multi-function and hybrid wearable devices leading to 3.2 billion devices in 2033

4G
LTE
Active Noise Cancellation
Bluetooth
Cameras
eSIM
GPS
Headsets
mWallet
Near Field Communication (NFC)
Smart Watches
Wireless Earbuds
Wireless Earphones
Wireless Headphones
Consumer Internet and Media Devices
Consumer Electronics
Wearables

Nikita Singh
Matt Arnott

This report summarises the status and forecasts from the Personal Portable Electronics Application Group (which includes Connected Cameras, Headphones, Smart Watches and Media Players) found in the Transforma Insights Connected Things IoT Forecast. These electronic devices are lightweight equipment that are mostly used by consumers.

Amazfit
Apple
Astell and Kern
Beats
Bose
Canon
Creative
Daimler
Fujifilm
Garmin
Google
Iriver
JBL
Mercedes Benz
Microsoft
Nikon
Nubia Alpha
Samsung
SanDisk
Sony
TicWatch
Verizon Communications
Vitality Health

Internet of Things
Hyperconnectivity
Human Machine Interface

Vehicle Head Unit: 1.94 billion connected cars in 2033 to drive new revenue streams for auto OEMs

5G
Connected Vehicles
Vehicle Head Units
In-Vehicle Infotainment
Electric Vehicles
Connected Car
On-Demand Services
Vehicle to Vehicle
V2V
Vehicle to Infrastructure
V2I
Vehicle to Everything
V2X

Matt Arnott
Suruchi Dhingra
Rohan Bansal

This report provides Transforma Insights’ view on the Vehicle Head Unit IoT market. The report provides a detailed definition of the sector, analysis of market development and profiles of the key vendors in the space. It also provides a summary of the current status of adoption and Transforma Insights’ ten-year forecasts for the market.

Acura
Aptiv
Audi
Bell
BMW
BMW Motorrad
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Continental AG
Chrysler
Daimler
Ducati
Fiat
Ford
Foxconn
Genesis
General Motor
Google
Honda
Hyundai
Jaguar
Kia
KTM
Magneti Marelli
Mercedes-Benz
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Nvidia
Opel
Porsche
SAIC Motor
Stellantis
Techblocks
Toyota
Ujet
Visteon
Volkswagen
Volvo

Internet of Things
Hyperconnectivity

Transportation & Storage
Consumer

Data security in the era of quantum computing

Artificial Intelligence
Future Technologies
Quantum Computing
Qubits
Quantum Gates
Quantum Algorithms
Quantum Circuits
Quantum Hardware
Quantum Software
Quantum Computers
Quantum Middleware
Q-day
Quantum Encryption
Quantum Cryptography
Quantum Cloud
Hybrid Quantum Computing
Quantum Annealing
Post-Quantum Cryptography
Quantum-Key Distribution
Quantum Attacks
Encryption
RSA
Code-based Cryptography
Hash-based Cryptography
Multivariate Cryptography
Lattice-based Cryptography

Rohan Bansal

The development of quantum computers is well under way. Even though these machines are still in relatively early development stages it will not be long before the adoption of quantum computing becomes mainstream in many industries. Over the past few years, some remarkable milestones have been achieved by different technology leaders in this field. For instance, Google was able to construct a quantum computer in 2019 which could do a mathematical calculation in 3 minutes 20 seconds, which would have taken a regular supercomputer 10,000 years to solve. Currently the most advanced development is IBM’s Quantum Condor processor with a 1,000-qubit capacity. Quantum computing increasingly provides great opportunities to enterprises, especially in the field of new drug discovery, financial trading, and supply chain optimisation. But with its great benefits, it also brings along some major threats that need to be mitigated in order to protect highly sensitive information concerning people, organisations, and nations. In this report we analyse the contexts in which quantum computing can pose a threat to present-day security systems and approaches to mitigate the risks. We talk in detail about post quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD), today’s two major techniques that can be used to protect data from the threat of quantum attacks. The report also highlights different advances that are being made in order to ensure data protection along with a range of use case examples in which quantum-safe security is being implemented to safeguard user information. Lasty, we also profile some of the players that are providing quantum-safe security to organisations and highlight the different products and systems they are using in order to do so.

Cryptomathic
Crypto Quantique
ID Quantique Post Quantum
PQShield
Quantum Dice
Toshiba Quantum Technology

Artificial Intelligence
Future Technologies

Electricity Smart Meters: Government policies and sustainability initiatives will drive 2.1 billion connections in 2033

Internet of Things
IoT
Hyperconnectivity
Powerline
Wired
Zigbee
LoRaWAN
RF Mesh
Cellular
NB-IoT
2G
3G
4G
Advanced Metering Infrastructure
AMI
Automatic Meter Reading
AMR
Smart Electricity Meter
Smart Grid
PLC
Load Balancing
In-home Display
IHD
Wi-Sun
Utility Provider
Utilities

Nikita Singh
Matt Arnott

This report provides Transforma Insights’ view on the Electricity Smart Meter IoT market found in the Transforma Insights Connected Things TAM forecast. The transition from traditional electricity meters to smart meters is one of the biggest IoT initiatives worldwide. By 2033, there will be 2.1 billion electricity smart meter connections. This report examines the reasons for the increase in installations, including reducing energy consumption, a desire to reduce electricity thefts, enhancing load balancing capabilities, and growth in the use of renewable energy sources. Reducing dependence on nuclear energy and the greater demand for EV charging are likely to increase the use of renewables for energy and further drive the adoption of smart electricity meters. It also provides a detailed assessment of the progress of rollouts and the various communication technologies used across major geographies for these meters. Electricity smart meter rollout is a government-led initiative and with the installation of meters, consumers are provided added benefits such as subsidies on their electricity bill or refunds on using limited electricity during peak hours. Most of these rollouts supported by government regulations focus on providing incentives for deployment. The report provides a detailed definition of the sector, analysis of market development and profiles of the key vendors in the space. It also provides a summary of the current status of adoption and Transforma Insights’ ten-year forecasts for the market. The forecasts include analysis of the number of IoT connections by geography, the technologies used (including splits by 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LPWA, short range, satellite and others), as well as the revenue split between module, value-added connectivity and services. A full set of forecast data, including country-level forecasts, sector break-downs and public/private network splits, is available through the TAM Forecast tool.

Aclara
Åland’s Elandelslag (ÅEA)
Arqiva
Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC)
BC Hydro
Bitė Lietuva
Bsf IT
CenterPoint Energy
CGI IT
Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE)
Department of Energy (DoE)
SaskPower
DELTA Netwerkbedrijf
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)
Enexis
Enel
Energate
Federal Electricity Company (CFE)
FortisBC France
ERDF
Göteborg Energi
Holley Metering
Honeywell-Elster Group
Huawei
Ikeja Electric
Iskraemeco
Itron
Kamstrup
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)
Kymenlaakson Sähköverkko Oy (KSOY)
Landis+Gyr (LG&E)
Liander
Linz Net
LS Industrial Systems Company
Metretek
Ministry of Energy and Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA)
MTN
Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA)
NES Communication
Nine Utilities
Nuri Telecom Company
OMNIA electricity
One Nordic
Onzo
Orion M2M
Pakistan Electricity and Power Corporation (PSE&G)
Qatar General Electricity & Water (Kahramaa)
Radius
San Diego Gas & Electric
China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co
Schneider Electric
Siemens
Stedin
Tata Power
Telia
Telefonica
Telekom Austria
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB)
Tendril Networks
TEPCO
Vodafone
West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited
Westland Infra

Internet of Things
Hyperconnectivity

Electricity, Gas, Steam & A/C

Gas Smart Meters: Government mandates, incentives, and communication technologies drive adoption of over 509 million connections by 2033

Advanced Meter Reading
AMR
Advanced Metering Infrastructure
AMI
Cellular
LoRaWAN
M-Bus
RF Mesh
NB-IoT
Sigfox
Zigbee
Gas Meter
Smart Energy
Smart Grid
Utilities
Heating

Nikita Singh
Matt Arnott

This report summarises the Transforma Insights view on the Gas Smart Meter IoT market found in the Transforma Insights Connected Things TAM forecast. The report covers in detail, the evolution of traditional gas meters to smart gas meters that are equipped with connectivity to report gas consumption without manual reading, as well as other metrics such as pressure measurement and leak detection. The total number of Gas Smart Meters will grow from 245.5 million in 2023 to 509 million by the end of 2033. Mostly concentrated in China, North America, and Europe, the smart gas meter market is significantly regulated, often by the local government or energy provider. Deployments of smart gas meters are typically triggered by the local utility provider and are deployed only in countries that use gas pipelines. The majority of South East Asian countries and Africa still have a low number of smart gas meter installations due to the lack of piped natural gas (PNG) and preference for gas cylinders. The report also describes the barriers to growth such as the increasing cost of natural gas, a focus on renewable energy sources (including hydrogen gas and biogas), as well as Russia’s war with Ukraine, its consequent sanctions and the resulting impact on natural gas use in European countries. The report provides a detailed definition of the sector, analysis of market development and profiles of the key vendors in the space. It also provides a summary of the current status of adoption and Transforma Insights’ ten-year forecasts for the market. The forecasts include analysis of the number of IoT connections by geography, the technologies used (including splits by 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LPWA, short range, satellite and others), as well as the revenue split between module, value-added connectivity and services. A full set of forecast data, including country-level forecasts, sector break-downs and public/private network splits, is available through the TAM Forecast tool.

Aclara
Apator Group
Autorità di Regolazione per Energia Reti e Ambiente (AEEGSI)
British Gas
China Telecom
Con Edison
Consumer Energy
Dalim
Diehl Metering
EDF
EDMI
Energie Thun
Enexis Netbeheer
Groupement d’intérêt économique
Honeywell- Elster Group
International Renewable Energy Agency
Itron
Korea Smart Metering Forum
Korea Telecom
Kyocera Communication Systems
Landis+Gyr
NICIGAS
Nicor Gas
Sensus
Shenzhen Gas
Sony
SORACOM
Spire
Støvring Kraftvarmeværk AMBA.
Tokyo Gas
Unabiz
Xylem
Zenner

Hyperconnectivity
Internet of Things

Electricity, Gas, Steam & A/C

Below is a list of Transforma Insights' research reports on Digital Transformation, IoT, AI and other disruptive technologies. Our 'Essential' subscribers can access a select sub-set of the reports as 'Essential Reading'. User Group members can access exclusive 'User Group' content. Some reports (e.g. Peer Benchmarking) are only available to 'Corporate' users. For details on how to upgrade your subscriptions, check your Profile page. If you would like to speak with our analysts about the content of any report, or any other topic, please contact enquiries@transformainsights.com.