AI is becoming the central engine of future new-venture building for many companies. A recent survey shows that 56 percent of business leaders expect their companies to build data- and AI-driven businesses in the next five years, making it the top choice overall, note McKinsey’s Daniel Aminetzah, Jason Bello, Jerome Königsfeld, Paul Jenkins, and coauthors. Tech, media, and telecom sectors, along with financial services and advanced industries, lead the way in anticipated new ventures focusing on analytics, data, and AI.
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A volume circle heat chart shows the types of new ventures expected to be built by respondents’ companies in the next 5 years, by industry, with the percentage of respondents expecting their companies to build ventures listed for each industry. The chart includes 7 industries: technology, media, and telecom; financial services; advanced industries; healthcare, pharma, and medical products; travel, logistics, and infrastructure; energy and materials; and consumer goods and retail. Each industry is represented by a column, and the rows represent different types of new ventures. The chart shows that 75% of respondents in the technology, media, and telecom industry expect to build data, analytics, and/or AI-driven businesses, compared with 68% in financial services, 57% in advanced industries, 54% in healthcare, pharma, and medical products, and 44% in energy and materials. Overall, 56% of respondents across all industries expect to build data, analytics, and/or AI-driven businesses.
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Source: McKinsey Global Survey on new-venture building, 715 senior managers and C-level respondents at companies with ≥$100 million in annual revenue, May 13–29, 2025.
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To read the survey, see “The way to win in corporate venturing: Serial building and AI,” October 28, 2025.