Insights
Insights
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An M7-Led AI Ecosystem — Where Should Korean Companies Start Their Vertical AI Strategy?
AI is moving from a cost of adoption to a real source of revenue. According to Samjong KPMG Economic Research Institute's Samjong INSIGHT Vol.94, global AI startup investment reached USD 225.8 billion in 2025 — twice the total of 2024. The global AI market overall is expected to grow from approximately USD 371.7 billion in 2025 to USD 2.407 trillion by 2032 (CAGR 30.6%), and 97% of global tech executives in a KPMG Global survey said AI either has created or will create value.
AI monetization is splitting into three layers: infrastructure, platform, service. Infrastructure firms like Nvidia and Samsung Electronics monetize via semiconductors and data-center supply; platform firms like OpenAI and Google through subscription, platform, and licensing models. Non-tech companies are evolving by embedding AI into existing services to pursue operational efficiency (cost reduction) and new revenue simultaneously. JPMorgan Chase delivered USD 1.0–1.5 billion in benefits from AI adoption in FY2024, while Singapore's DBS reported SGD 750 million in economic impact.
Sector-level monetization maturity is diverging quickly. IT and telecom are completing revenue structures around infrastructure provision and B2B solutions, while healthcare, retail, and consumer goods are in early monetization with AI agents, agentic commerce, and precision medicine. In finance, risk management, compliance automation, and hyper-personalized wealth-management services are anchoring as core monetization axes.
The global AI ecosystem is configured around US leadership (43.1% North America share), China's chase, and a few specialized leaders emerging from Europe and Asia. For Korean firms, a vertical AI solutions strategy — deeply embedding AI into strong industries (semiconductors, manufacturing, K-content) — is highlighted as the key path to global competitive advantage.
What this means for M&A. The rapid expansion of the AI monetization ecosystem is changing M&A in multi-layered ways. First, in vertical AI segments not yet oligopolized, strategic bolt-on acquisitions of specialized companies with domain data and operational know-how are the fastest route to securing competitiveness. Second, the explosive demand for AI infrastructure (data centers, semiconductors) is rapidly lifting valuations of related component, materials, and equipment companies, suggesting vertical-integration M&A to stabilize supply chains. Third, non-tech companies' demand to acquire or partner with tech firms to internalize AI is rising structurally across all industries.
Full report: Samjong KPMG Economic Research Institute, Samjong INSIGHT Vol.94 (April 2026)