Explore the five layers of the AI value chain and discover where AI innovation drives business transformation, efficiency, and investment growth
Written by :
Pablo Rodrigo
June 23, 2025
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The AI revolution is redefining business, technology, and investment landscape at an unprecedented pace. In our Artificial Intelligence’s latest Models & Architecture Overview, we unveil the structural layers of the AI ecosystem and highlight where innovation and value creation are accelerating the fastest.
This report is grounded in over 50 industry veterans interviews across leading AI companies and infrastructure providers, offering first-hand insight into how AI is transforming industries globally.
AI has evolved significantly from the early days of rule-based systems to today's Generative AI (GenAI) models that create new content (text, images, video) and agentic AI capable of autonomously performing tasks like emailing clients or managing support tickets. This evolution marks a shift from simple automation to cognitive augmentation.
The next frontier? AI agents that act as digital coworkers. These systems, built on large language models (LLMs), are forecast to grow at 45% CAGR, reaching a $52B market by 2030. Their ability to interpret context, plan actions, and independently execute them is transforming how companies operate from sales to cybersecurity.
The AI ecosystem is structured into five fundamental layers:
Each layer plays a crucial role, but increasingly, players are moving across boundaries, model builders launching apps, infrastructure firms offering platforms, and everyone racing to secure hardware supply.
Despite the buzz, the AI landscape remains highly fragmented, particularly in the application and platform layers. By contrast, the model layer is dominated by a handful of players, including hyperscalers like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.
This fragmentation creates both risk and opportunity. Integration and interoperability challenges persist, but so do avenues for product differentiation and value creation.
Not all parts of the value chain carry the same profile for investors:
The report emphasizes that infrastructure and model builders are increasingly vertically integrating, securing their own GPU supply and moving upstream to capture more of the value chain.
AI is not just a tool; it’s a business accelerator. We identify three key vectors of AI-driven value creation:
In every case, AI empowers companies to do more, faster and smarter.
To understand how AI is reshaping industries, and where the most promising opportunities lie across the value chain, request full access to the report.
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