Edge computing market to reach USD424bn in 2030, driven by a boom in content delivery and computer vision

• Edge computing total addressable market to grow by CAGR of 32% over the next six years, reaching USD424bn in 2030
• The largest opportunity will come from content delivery, web and app optimisation, and computer vision for asset monitoring
• Media and entertainment, and manufacturing are expected to have the biggest demand for edge-enabled use cases

LONDON – 4 April 2025 – STL Partners forecasts that the total addressable market for edge computing will reach USD424 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% projected over the next six years.

In the fourth edition of its market forecast examining the edge computing market landscape, the research company has revised its outlook for 2030 down by 8% from its last projection due to reduced expectations for the speed of adoption of cloud gaming. The analyst house’s latest findings show that the use cases with the largest revenue opportunity at the end of the decade will be content delivery, web and app optimisation, as well as computer vision for asset monitoring.

LONDON – 29 January 2025 – The addressable edge AI market is set for significant growth by the end of the decade, rising from USD54bn in revenue in 2024 to USD157bn by 2030 globally, STL Partners prognoses in its latest research. 

In its first-ever Edge AI market forecast, the analyst powerhouse suggests that the market will be rising by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% during the period, demonstrating the huge demand for solutions that support future developments of AI applications. 

Edge AI refers to the deployment of AI models at the edge of the network. STL Partners forecasts the value of edge AI across the entire value chain which it splits into six main components: device, connectivity, platform, application, integration and support, and edge infrastructure. The forecast does not include on-device edge AI and focuses on AI workloads processed on edge infrastructure that is off the device.  

The research and consulting firm believes that the proportion of revenue directly attributable to AI will grow from 69% in 2024 to 72% in 2030. This is because applications are set to become increasingly infused with AI, making the technology integral to the delivery of use cases. The remaining 28% of revenue in 2030 is set to come from components of the value chain that indirectly enable AI applications. 

“The substantial value generated directly by AI or as a direct enabling force indicates that players which are specialising in accommodating AI applications at the edge stand to gain significant value. Indicative of this influence is the growing investment across enterprises into AI accelerators to facilitate the deployment of edge AI applications”, comments George Glanville, research analyst at STL Partners and author of the forecast. According to him, convincing enterprises to make this investment into specialised on-premises hardware has required greater collaboration between independent software vendors (ISVs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to demonstrate the ROI of edge AI solutions. 

Global revenue from edge computing

“On-premises edge stands as the dominant platform to support AI at the edge and drives much of the early revenue in the market – particularly in facilitating computer vision applications. However, by 2028, use cases that require a more distributed, wide-area, edge infrastructure footprint will begin to mature”, claims George Glanville, edge analyst and co-author of the forecast update. He adds that by this point, the market will be mainly fuelled by edge content delivery network (CDN), cloud gaming and connected car driver assistance.

Across the forecast period, media and entertainment, and manufacturing are expected to be the verticals with the biggest demand for edge-enabled use cases, representing a share of 58% by 2030. The media and entertainment sector alone is prognosed to account for 41% of the total addressable revenue by then, primarily propelled by cloud gaming and content delivery use cases which leverage the edge to enhance applications and deliver a premium customer experience.

Manufacturing, on the other hand, is an early adopter industry of edge computing solutions for a wide array of reasons, including enhanced automation, security and safety capabilities as well as new revenue generation possibilities. Computer vision, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and robotic control of industrial machinery contribute to the size of the opportunity in this vertical.

North America, East Asia and Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia will remain the largest regional markets for edge computing throughout the forecast period. However, their combined share of the global edge computing addressable market will decline from 93% in 2024 to 87% in 2030, as regions in the rest of the world experience higher growth.

Find out more insights from the forecast here.

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STL Partners is a leading research and consulting company that focuses on the telecom industry and adjacent markets by helping telcos and their partners innovate, grow and stay ahead of the competition.