New Survey Reveals Enterprise AI Breakthroughs Advancing, But Business Impact Still Out of Reach

Domino’s 2025 REVelate report shows safe AI adoption is accelerating, yet measurable ROI remains a challenge for most organizations

RevX 2025 – New York City – May 8, 2025 – Domino Data Lab, provider of the leading Enterprise AI Platform trusted by the largest AI-driven companies, released its 2025 REVelate report, revealing a major move: organizations are going beyond AI experimentation into large-scale production. However, short-term return on investment (ROI) has taken a back seat as leaders prioritize infrastructure, governance, and scalable tools that support long-term strategic value over hype. While 88% of organizations report improved ability to move AI from experimentation to production, nearly 60% expect less than 50% ROI in the rapidly changing areas of machine learning (60%) or Gen AI (57%).

“It’s clear that the AI hype cycle has peaked. Enterprises are done experimenting, and they’re racing to scale, but the payoff is still out of reach,” said Thomas Robinson, Chief Operating Officer at Domino. “Our data validates what leaders know about and followers are learning: aligned leadership, flexible infrastructure, and integrated governance drive a straight line to AI business impact. These aren’t technical upgrades — they’re business imperatives that will define who sees real returns from AI.”

Key findings from this year’s report include:

• Governance is the top priority: When it comes to AI execution, integrated AI/ML governance is the top capability required (66%) by enterprises, followed closely by tooling (49%), and hybrid cloud AI infrastructure (44%). More than half (51%) are focused on securing and structuring data pipelines to make their infrastructure AI-ready today and tomorrow.
• Hybrid infrastructure is on the rise: Infrastructure to support AI across global clouds and on-premises environments is increasingly important, with 48% of leaders believing hybrid cloud is a critical capability. Among organizations that have not yet formalized all their AI initiatives (followers), 42% still identified hybrid infrastructure as a top priority.
• Progress isn’t always enough: Many organizations are feeling the pressure to keep up with AI advancements. 63% say keeping pace with innovation is a significant challenge. Additionally, 59% report unrealistic expectations from business stakeholders, and 57% lack defined AI leadership roles within their organizations.
• Cost remains a major hurdle: As organizations invest in AI technologies—including agentic AI, descriptive analytics, generative AI, and machine learning—cost remains a critical concern. From acquiring AI talent (63%), to managing unexpected project expenses (61%), to challenges in leveraging existing infrastructure (61%), financial strain continues to hinder the realization of AI's full value. The price tag for developing and operating AI (60%) was also highlighted as a major barrier by respondents.

REVelate 2025, which commissioned BARC to poll 300+ C-level executives, VPs, and directors involved in AI strategy across North American and European enterprises, found stark differences in AI outcomes and priorities across sectors. Finance, life sciences, and public sector respondents identified varying degrees of adoption and use, shedding light on how each industry is incorporating AI infrastructure, tooling, and data to break ahead in their own markets.

Key findings by sector:

• Life Sciences enterprises have the highest adoption rate of cutting-edge AI techniques, with 98% using GenAI and 95% using agentic AI. This is reflective of the value AI can bring to pharmaceutical and biomedical innovation by shortening timelines and improving outcomes. However, ROI expectations remain modest, with just 3% expecting GenAI to deliver returns exceeding 100% this year.
• Finance organizations are the most mature of the verticals, with more than half (51%) of respondents sharing that their organization has formally designated AI leadership roles. Additionally, 66% of respondents identified integrated AI/ML governance as their top execution priority—outpacing infrastructure, tooling, or GenAI initiatives—highlighting finance’s deep focus on compliance, control, and operational discipline.
• Public Sector organizations are focused on foundational progress, citing hybrid infrastructure and tooling as top needs while grappling with tight budgets and governance gaps. Just 23% of leaders reported having a formal policy in place for AI data access and use.

“We’re seeing a widening gap between AI ambition and ROI. Enterprises that treat AI as a side project will struggle to keep up. It’s time to operationalize AI as a core business function with the right infrastructure, oversight, and strategy to match,” said Shawn Rogers, CEO at BARC US. “Those that make these foundational changes today will be the companies defining their industries tomorrow.”

As organizations continue to invest in AI, they increasingly need tools to support governance, platforms, and leadership for AI that is designed to scale and deliver on ROI. For more details on the 2025 REVelate survey findings and best practices in AI governance, download the full report.

Domino will highlight more REVelate survey findings along with success stories from enterprises across financial services, insurance, life sciences, and more at its RevX series of free, one-day AI and MLOps-focused events for data science and IT leaders. RevX begins today in New York City, with additional dates in Philadelphia (Life Sciences Edition) on May 20 and London on June 24.

Additional Resources

• Download the REVelate 2025 Survey Report.
• Learn more about building and operating highly governed AI with the Domino Enterprise AI Platform.
• Read the Domino Blog for the latest insights on accelerating AI innovation.
• Follow Domino on LinkedIn and X.
  

About Domino Data Lab

Domino Data Lab empowers the largest AI-driven enterprises and major government agencies to build and operate AI at scale. Domino’s Enterprise AI Platform provides an integrated experience encompassing model development, MLOps, collaboration, and governance. With Domino, global enterprises can develop better medicines, grow more productive crops, develop more competitive products, and more. Founded in 2013, Domino is backed by Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, NVIDIA, Snowflake, and other leading investors. Learn more at domino.ai.

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