The Revolution of Artificial Intelligence in Tech Companies: Challenges and Opportunities in 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) has transitioned from an emerging technology to a fundamental pillar for businesses of all sizes. From process optimization to the development of innovative products, AI is transforming the way organizations operate and compete in an increasingly digital market. However, its adoption continues to present significant challenges, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which face economic and technical barriers.

The latest Currents report from DigitalOcean, based on a survey of over 1,000 developers worldwide, provides a detailed insight into the current state of AI in the tech sector. The study analyzes the level of adoption, the main obstacles to its implementation, the preference for open-source models, and the emerging trends that will define the future of this technology.

The Advancement of AI in Tech Companies

One of the most significant findings from the report is that 79% of organizations are already integrating AI in some form, representing a substantial increase from 49% in November 2023. However, this progress does not imply that all companies are at the same stage of adoption.

The data shows that most organizations are still in an early exploration phase:

• 32% are starting to explore the use of AI.
• 11% already consider themselves an AI-driven company.

For many companies, the use of artificial intelligence represents an opportunity to improve efficiency and optimize their services. However, not all have the necessary resources to move to the next level.

What Drives Companies to Adopt AI?

The rise of AI in recent years has been driven by multiple factors, including:

• Access to more affordable tools: The availability of cloud solutions has made it easier for companies of any size to experiment with AI without the need for large investments in infrastructure.
• Increased automation of processes: Companies are seeking to optimize their operations through AI, reducing costs and improving productivity.
• Competitive pressure: In an increasingly digital market, companies that do not incorporate AI risk falling behind their competitors.

Despite these advantages, the adoption of AI continues to be limited by a series of economic and technical barriers that hinder its implementation.

The Major Obstacles to AI Adoption

The DigitalOcean report highlights two major barriers affecting companies, particularly SMEs:

1. The high costs of hardware, especially GPUs
2. The lack of technical knowledge about AI and infrastructure optimization

1. High Hardware Costs

One of the main challenges companies face is the investment in specialized hardware. 34% of respondents cite the high cost of GPUs as a significant barrier, as these processors are essential for efficiently training AI models.

The problem is exacerbated in smaller firms:

• 38% of organizations with fewer than 10 employees face financial difficulties in acquiring GPUs.
• 29% of companies with 11-99 employees also mention costs as an obstacle.
• Medium-sized companies (100-499 employees) are less affected, with only 22% reporting cost issues.

To mitigate this problem, many companies have opted for cloud solutions, which allow them to access high-performance GPUs without the need for a significant upfront investment.

2. Lack of Technical Knowledge

The report also notes that 24% of companies lack knowledge on how to optimize GPU usage. This problem is particularly severe in SMEs, which do not always have specialists in infrastructure or AI on staff.

This has led to an increased reliance on cloud platforms that offer pre-configured environments for developing AI models, facilitating adoption without the need for advanced technical knowledge.

The Role of the Cloud in AI Expansion

For many companies, the cloud has become the most viable option for experimenting with and scaling AI projects without incurring prohibitive costs. 65% of organizations are already using cloud services to implement AI, compared to 39% of individual projects.

Why Do Companies Prefer the Cloud?

According to the data from the report, the main reasons companies migrate their AI projects to cloud platforms include:

• Access to advanced features (42%)
• Cost optimization (38%)
• Scalability needs (37%)

Among the leading cloud service providers for AI are AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and DigitalOcean, although alternatives like Stackscale (Aire Group) are also emerging, offering optimized infrastructures for AI-intensive workloads.

Open Source AI: The Best Alternative?

Another key finding of the report is that 83% of developers prefer to use open-source AI models in their projects, either as a starting point or as the main solution. 39% of respondents use these models frequently or always.

Why Do Developers Choose Open Source?

The main advantages cited include:

• Greater collaboration and shared knowledge (54%)
• Access to free tools and resources (37%)
• Opportunities to develop new skills (40%)

However, working with open-source models also presents challenges, such as difficulties in obtaining quality data (45%) and the complexity of scaling models (44%).

AI Trends: What Does the Future Hold?

The report also explores emerging trends in the field of AI. Developers identified the following areas as the most promising for the coming years:

• Advanced multimodal systems (34%)
• Automated machine learning (AutoML) (31%)
• AI applied to biotechnology (23%)
• Real-time audio translation (22%)

In addition, the survey reveals that 65% of developers are involved in personal projects or side jobs related to AI, demonstrating the growing interest in this technology beyond the corporate sphere.

Conclusion: AI as a Key Factor in Business Transformation

The Currents report from DigitalOcean shows that, although artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, its adoption still faces significant barriers.

Hardware costs, lack of technical knowledge, and challenges in integrating with existing systems remain obstacles that many companies must overcome. However, the increasing availability of cloud solutions and the popularity of open-source models are democratizing access to AI.

As more companies adopt these technologies, the ability to innovate and optimize processes will be key to staying competitive in a world increasingly driven by AI. Those that manage to overcome these challenges will be better positioned to lead the digital transformation in their respective sectors.

Source: DigitalOcean Report