AI Research
The reports worth your hour: investment-bank research, VC state-of-AI decks, lab and academic papers, each with an AI Lounge summary and the three numbers to remember.
The Era of AI Yield (Capgemini, October 2026): seven engineering levers cut token spend 40% to 60%
Seven engineering levers, from caching and model routing to tool-call quotas, deliver documented 40% to 60% reductions in enterprise token spend at similar output quality.
Report
The Formula for Agentic AI Value (BCG, September 2026): agents now deliver 22% of AI value, heading to 39% by 2030
Companies that combine strategic clarity with applied AI unlock five times as much AI value as those with neither, and agents are the fastest growing share of that value.
Index
Technology Report 2026 (Bain, September 2026): AI needs a $6T annual market to fund its buildout
AI infrastructure needs $6T annual market to justify buildout, requiring new value categories beyond current enterprise and consumer applications
Report
WEF & Oliver Wyman: Data centre sustainability and resilience, a decision playbook for AI infrastructure
AI data centre planners face six strategic constraints where early decisions become locked-in across development and operations phases
Insight report
EY: Can AI pay for itself? The true cost of agents and the value needed to justify it
Agent infrastructure costs triple token expenses, requiring substantial value creation across governance, compliance, and operational support systems
Research paper
KPMG 2026 Frontiers Report: AI as the frontier multiplier across AGI, physical AI, energy, quantum and space
AI acts as multiplier connecting AGI, physical AI, energy, quantum computing, trust and space frontiers
Annual report
Deloitte GenAI in M&A 2026 Pulse Survey: 500 deal leaders on where generative AI is used across the deal cycle
GenAI adoption in M&A has crossed threshold, spreading from diligence into close and integration phases
Survey report
KPMG 2026 Banking Technology Survey: AI, data and cyber priorities driving bank IT spend
Banks prioritize AI, data, cybersecurity and enterprise transformation in technology spending
Survey report
WEF & PwC: AI and the future of entry-level work, safeguarding and reinventing early-career pathways
AI threatens entry-level employment; collaborative framework proposed to redesign rather than eliminate early-career job pathways
Insight report
WEF & Kearney: The AI-First Operating System, a blueprint for operating and business model innovation
AI-first companies require five interconnected blocks: intelligence engines, adaptive AI stacks, redesigned operations, human-AI teaming, and new value creation strategies
White paper
WEF & Capgemini: AI Agents in Action, a playbook for trusted adoption, authorization and scaling
AI agents require clear decision rights, authority frameworks, and capability profiles for safe scaling and trusted deployment
Insight report
PwC AI performance study: the most AI-fit companies see 7.2x the AI-driven revenue and efficiency gains
Most AI-fit companies achieve 7.2x greater AI-driven revenue and efficiency gains than peers
Research study
Accenture: From early impact to enduring advantage, why AI's financial payoff is backloaded
AI's financial benefits arrive late, requiring early operational readiness and strong data foundations
Research report
Bain Asia-Pacific Private Equity Report 2026: a fragmented recovery, improving exits and the AI chapter
Asia-Pacific PE market shows fragmented recovery with improving exits, exits, and growing AI adoption by regional firms
Annual report
WEF & Accenture: Organizational transformation in the age of AI, how organizations maximize AI's potential
AI transforms five organizational areas: customer experience, operations, R&D, strategic planning, and workforce management
White paper
PwC: Our six business predictions for AI in 2026, why value stays concentrated in a few companies
AI value concentration among few companies due to focused strategy versus scattered investment across multiple small bets
Predictions
State of AI in the Enterprise 2026 (Deloitte, January 2026): only one in five firms has mature agent governance
Only one in five firms has mature governance for autonomous AI agents despite rising deployment
Survey
JLL 2026 Global Data Center Outlook: ~100 GW of new capacity by 2030 and a $3T infrastructure supercycle
Data center capacity expected to double by 2030 with AI workloads driving unprecedented growth and power constraints
Annual outlook
