Report Overview

Growing use of digital technologies in healthcare and growth in adoption of autonomous artificial intelligence are expected to boost the growth of South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market during the forecast period between 2023 and 2029.

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market - Industry Trends & Forecast Report, 2029

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market size was estimated to be worth USD 0.78 billion in 2022. During the forecast period between 2023 and 2029, the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 46.71%, reaching a value of USD 7.81 billion by 2029. Major growth factors for the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market include rising launches and innovations in the AI industry, along with its increasing adoption across various end-user sectors, including healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, and others.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Overview

The science of creating robots with human-like thought processes is known as artificial intelligence (AI). It is capable of actions deemed "smart." Unlike humans, AI technology can process enormous volumes of data in many ways. AI intends to be able to accomplish human-like tasks, including pattern recognition, decision-making, and judgment. AI helps improve human performance in terms of speed, accuracy, and efficacy. The AI technology approaches may be applied in financial institutions to automate labor-intensive data administration processes, implement quick and accurate credit scoring, and determine whether transactions are likely to be fraudulent.

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market

Growth Drivers

Rising Launches of in-grown Artificial Intelligence (AI) Companies

South Africa is registering a significant expansion in the number of in-grown artificial intelligence (AI) companies with the rising adoption of AI in the country. For instance, Lalepa AI, founded by South African scientist Pelonomi Moiloa, is one of the continent’s first companies that develop AI-based products. To support the growing adoption of AI in the country, the government and industry players are also rigorously investing in the market. The government has established the Presidential PhD Initiative through an initial ZAR 1 billion (approximately USD 52 million) investment from the National Skills Fund to boost South Africa’s AI research, which is anticipated to present lucrative growth opportunities to the market during the forecast period.

Restraints

Shortage of Resources and Skilled Workforce

The adoption of AI entails hardware specialized for AI, such as Lisp machines, neuromorphic engineering, event cameras, and physical neural networks, which can run AI algorithms more quickly and efficiently. As South Africa is a developing economy, it might not be financially feasible for local businesses, especially SMEs, to implement AI technology. Furthermore, it is expected that the shortage of qualified professionals to oversee the quickly advancing technology will further impede the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) market in South Africa.

Impact of Escalating Geopolitical Tensions on South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market

The escalating geopolitical tensions are hindering the growth of the South Africa artificial intelligence (AI) market. For instance, the ongoing Israel-Palestine ongoing conflict negatively impacted the production and supply of semiconductor chips. Israel is a leading chip producer outside of East Asia, as well as a research and development hub. With the outbreak of war between the two countries, R&D activities were completely halted due to the dangerous situation and a shortage of employees to conduct the operations.

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market

Segmental Coverage

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market – By Solution

Based on the solution, the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market is segregated into hardware, software, and services. The software segment accounts for the highest share of the market. An increasing number of launches of AI software, such as ChatGPT, Google Cloud AI Platform, IBM Watson, and Viso Suite Platform, are boosting its market growth. Throughout the forecast period, it is anticipated that organizations' need to understand and analyze visual material to acquire relevant insights will accelerate the use of artificial intelligence software.

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market – By Technology

Based on technology, the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market is segmented into deep learning, machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and machine vision. The deep learning segment holds the largest share in the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) market owing to the rising use of image and speech recognition. The growing popularity of digital assistants like Google Voice Search and Siri in South Africa is directly influencing the need for speech pattern identification and translation into text. Following deep learning, machine learning also covers a substantial market share owing to its prominent use in internet search engines and email filtering.

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market – By Business Function

Based on business function, the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market is segmented into sales & marketing, supply chain management, human resource management, finance & accounting, cybersecurity, legal & compliance, and operations. The operations segment accounts for the highest share of the market. Artificial intelligence is widely gaining traction in operations management to automate workflows. AI can improve efficiency and productivity by performing mundane and repetitive tasks, which eventually decreases errors as well.

South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market – By End User

Based on end user, the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market is segmented into healthcare, BFSI, law, retail, advertising & media, automotive & transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and others. The healthcare segment dominates the South Africa artificial intelligence (AI) market. The healthcare sector is increasingly integrating AI into diagnosing health issues and reading medical images, x-rays, and scans to provide data-backed and accurate medical diagnoses. Healthcare organizations may improve the quality of patient experiences and make better clinical choices by using algorithms with the help of artificial intelligence, which is contributing to its market growth in South Africa.

Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in the South Africa Artificial Intelligence (AI) market include IBM, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips Healthcare, Altamira.ai, Cape AI, SIVOXI, Ashanti_AI, and Innovacio Technologies. To further enhance their market share, these companies employ various strategies, including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, license agreements, and new product launches.

Recent Developments

• In July 2023 – South Africa officially launched the Artificial Intelligence Association, an industry body focused on promoting and advancing AI, in partnership with Tshwane University of Technology.

Scope of the Report

By Solution

• Hardware

• Software

• Services

By Technology

• Deep Learning

• Machine Learning

• Natural Language Processing (NLP)

• Machine Vision

By Business Function

• Sales & Marketing

• Supply Chain Management

• Human Resource Management

• Finance & Accounting

• Cybersecurity

• Legal & Compliance

• Operations

By End User

• Healthcare

• BFSI

• Law

• Retail

• Advertising & Media

• Automotive & Transportation

• Agriculture

• Manufacturing

• Others