IBM Study: More Companies Turning to Open-Source AI Tools to Unlock ROI

• 85% of IT decision makers surveyed reported progress in their companies' 2024 AI strategy, with 47% saying they have already achieved positive ROI
• Nearly half of surveyed companies are looking to open-source AI to optimize their investments in 2025

ARMONK, N.Y., Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- New research commissioned by IBM (NYSE: IBM) found that companies surveyed are investing in AI for the long term, with a growing interest in using open-source tools to drive ROI and innovation going forward.

The study of more than 2,400 IT decision makers (ITDMs), conducted by Morning Consult and developed in collaboration with Lopez Research, revealed that 85% of respondents report making progress in executing their 2024 AI strategy, with nearly half (47%) already seeing positive ROI from their AI investments. The data also confirms that using open-source tools for AI solutions may correlate to greater financial viability: 51% of surveyed companies currently utilizing open-source AI tools report seeing positive ROI, as compared to just 41% of those not using open source.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of all respondents indicate they will increase their AI investments in 2025, while 48% are planning to leverage open-source ecosystems to optimize their AI implementations. For those surveyed companies not currently utilizing open-source, 2 in 5 say they plan to use open source for AI implementation in 2025.

"As organizations begin to implement AI at scale, many are placing greater stock in success metrics such as productivity gains, in part because traditional hard dollar ROI benefits have yet to show up on the balance sheets," said Maribel Lopez of Lopez Research. "Yet, companies continue to rapidly advance their AI strategies, with no sign of slowing down. Companies now recognize the value of defining specific use cases and optimizing AI projects. They are leveraging hybrid cloud strategies and open source to drive AI innovation and deliver financial returns."

Further study findings include:

Enterprises are ramping up AI investment, but with a greater strategic focus

• 89% of surveyed organizations are planning to either increase or maintain their investment in AI in 2025.
  • Of the 62% that plan to increase their investment, nearly two-fifths (39%) of respondents plan to up their spending by 25-50%.
  • Only 5% of respondents plan to decrease their AI spending, and none by more than 50%.          
• Surveyed companies are focusing on specific areas for allocating their AI investments, particularly IT operations (the top focus area for 63% percent of respondents), as well as data quality management (46%) and product/services innovation (41%).
• When asked what strategic changes will be made in 2025, surveyed ITDMs identify using managed cloud services (51%), hiring specialized talent (48%) and utilizing open source (48%) among the most common ways they plan to optimize their AI investments.

 Open source is becoming crucial to companies' AI strategies

• 6-in-10 ITDMs surveyed report using open-source ecosystems as an AI tool source, and more AI solutions are expected to be based on open source in the coming year (41% in 2025 vs. 37% in 2024).
• More than 80% of respondents report that at least a quarter of their company's AI solutions or platforms are based on open source.
  • As company size increases, so does the likelihood that the majority (over 50%) of AI solutions are based on open source.
• Surveyed companies utilizing open-source ecosystems are more likely to be achieving positive ROI than those that are not (51% vs. 41%).
• In addition, respondents harnessing open-source ecosystems plan to launch more AI pilots in the coming year than those that are not: 38% say they plan to launch 21+ AI pilots in 2025, compared to 26% at companies not using open source for AI tooling.

Organizations report successfully advancing their AI projects, but often through less traditional ROI metrics

• 85% of surveyed ITDMs report making progress in executing their AI strategy, while only 9% report no progress.
• 58% of respondents say their company typically moves from AI pilot to full production in less than a year.
• 31% of surveyed companies say their AI investments are driven more by innovation, compared to 28% that are more ROI driven; 41% indicate that their organization is equally innovation and ROI-driven.
• Faster software development (25%), more rapid innovation (23%), and productivity time savings (22%) ranked as the three most important metrics surveyed ITDMs use to calculate ROI from AI investments. Hard dollar/quantifiable savings was a distant fourth at 15%.
• Nearly half (47%) of surveyed companies say they are achieving positive ROI from their AI projects; 33% say they are breaking even and just 14% say they are recording negative ROI.
  • Among companies not yet achieving positive ROI, less than half (44%) expect to begin seeing dollar savings within the next 1 to 2 years; 92% believe they will turn a positive ROI within 3 years.

To view the full study, visit: https://newsroom.ibm.com/image/IBM_ROI_of_AI_Report-December_2024.pdf

Study Methodology:
Morning Consult conducted a survey from October 30 to November 13, 2024 among a total sample of 2,413 IT Decision Makers (ITDMS) in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Spain, India, Singapore, Indonesia, and South Korea. The interviews were conducted online, and the data is unweighted. Respondents are employed at companies with 101 employees or more, serving in director-level or higher roles within a technology role, with decision-making authority over at least one of the following: management of business consultants/consulting services, purchasing for IT products, or purchasing for business consulting services.

About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Marisa Conway
IBM Corporate Communications
conwaym@us.ibm.com

ARMONK, N.Y., Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- New research commissioned by IBM (NYSE: IBM) found that companies surveyed are investing in AI for the long term, with a growing interest in using open-source tools to drive ROI and innovation going forward.

The study of more than 2,400 IT decision makers (ITDMs), conducted by Morning Consult and developed in collaboration with Lopez Research, revealed that 85% of respondents report making progress in executing their 2024 AI strategy, with nearly half (47%) already seeing positive ROI from their AI investments. The data also confirms that using open-source tools for AI solutions may correlate to greater financial viability: 51% of surveyed companies currently utilizing open-source AI tools report seeing positive ROI, as compared to just 41% of those not using open source.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of all respondents indicate they will increase their AI investments in 2025, while 48% are planning to leverage open-source ecosystems to optimize their AI implementations. For those surveyed companies not currently utilizing open-source, 2 in 5 say they plan to use open source for AI implementation in 2025.

"As organizations begin to implement AI at scale, many are placing greater stock in success metrics such as productivity gains, in part because traditional hard dollar ROI benefits have yet to show up on the balance sheets," said Maribel Lopez of Lopez Research. "Yet, companies continue to rapidly advance their AI strategies, with no sign of slowing down. Companies now recognize the value of defining specific use cases and optimizing AI projects. They are leveraging hybrid cloud strategies and open source to drive AI innovation and deliver financial returns."

Further study findings include:

Enterprises are ramping up AI investment, but with a greater strategic focus

• 89% of surveyed organizations are planning to either increase or maintain their investment in AI in 2025.
  • Of the 62% that plan to increase their investment, nearly two-fifths (39%) of respondents plan to up their spending by 25-50%.
  • Only 5% of respondents plan to decrease their AI spending, and none by more than 50%.          
• Surveyed companies are focusing on specific areas for allocating their AI investments, particularly IT operations (the top focus area for 63% percent of respondents), as well as data quality management (46%) and product/services innovation (41%).
• When asked what strategic changes will be made in 2025, surveyed ITDMs identify using managed cloud services (51%), hiring specialized talent (48%) and utilizing open source (48%) among the most common ways they plan to optimize their AI investments.

• Of the 62% that plan to increase their investment, nearly two-fifths (39%) of respondents plan to up their spending by 25-50%.
• Only 5% of respondents plan to decrease their AI spending, and none by more than 50%.          

 Open source is becoming crucial to companies' AI strategies

• 6-in-10 ITDMs surveyed report using open-source ecosystems as an AI tool source, and more AI solutions are expected to be based on open source in the coming year (41% in 2025 vs. 37% in 2024).
• More than 80% of respondents report that at least a quarter of their company's AI solutions or platforms are based on open source.
  • As company size increases, so does the likelihood that the majority (over 50%) of AI solutions are based on open source.
• Surveyed companies utilizing open-source ecosystems are more likely to be achieving positive ROI than those that are not (51% vs. 41%).
• In addition, respondents harnessing open-source ecosystems plan to launch more AI pilots in the coming year than those that are not: 38% say they plan to launch 21+ AI pilots in 2025, compared to 26% at companies not using open source for AI tooling.

• As company size increases, so does the likelihood that the majority (over 50%) of AI solutions are based on open source.

Organizations report successfully advancing their AI projects, but often through less traditional ROI metrics

• 85% of surveyed ITDMs report making progress in executing their AI strategy, while only 9% report no progress.
• 58% of respondents say their company typically moves from AI pilot to full production in less than a year.
• 31% of surveyed companies say their AI investments are driven more by innovation, compared to 28% that are more ROI driven; 41% indicate that their organization is equally innovation and ROI-driven.
• Faster software development (25%), more rapid innovation (23%), and productivity time savings (22%) ranked as the three most important metrics surveyed ITDMs use to calculate ROI from AI investments. Hard dollar/quantifiable savings was a distant fourth at 15%.
• Nearly half (47%) of surveyed companies say they are achieving positive ROI from their AI projects; 33% say they are breaking even and just 14% say they are recording negative ROI.
  • Among companies not yet achieving positive ROI, less than half (44%) expect to begin seeing dollar savings within the next 1 to 2 years; 92% believe they will turn a positive ROI within 3 years.

• Among companies not yet achieving positive ROI, less than half (44%) expect to begin seeing dollar savings within the next 1 to 2 years; 92% believe they will turn a positive ROI within 3 years.

To view the full study, visit: https://newsroom.ibm.com/image/IBM_ROI_of_AI_Report-December_2024.pdf

Study Methodology:
Morning Consult conducted a survey from October 30 to November 13, 2024 among a total sample of 2,413 IT Decision Makers (ITDMS) in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Spain, India, Singapore, Indonesia, and South Korea. The interviews were conducted online, and the data is unweighted. Respondents are employed at companies with 101 employees or more, serving in director-level or higher roles within a technology role, with decision-making authority over at least one of the following: management of business consultants/consulting services, purchasing for IT products, or purchasing for business consulting services.

About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Marisa Conway
IBM Corporate Communications
conwaym@us.ibm.com

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

IBM Study: More Companies Turning to Open-Source AI Tools to Unlock ROI

IBM Study: More Companies Turning to Open-Source AI Tools to Unlock ROI

New nonprofit research and development lab brings together a group of senior technical contributors from the Ethereum Foundation to ready the network for step-function wave of adoption from institutions, agentic finance and DeFi

Ethlabs to reinforce foundational commitments to credible neutrality, censorship resistance and security

NEW YORK, June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A coordinated group of Ethereum ecosystem stewards today announced the launch of Ethlabs, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization formed to ready Ethereum for the next phase of institutional adoption. The funding effort is led by Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BMNR), Sharplink, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBET), Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin and other key Ethereum ecosystem contributors including Anchorage, Octant and SNZ.

As stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, funds and autonomous AI commerce move onchain, they are converging on Ethereum as the neutral, credibly permissionless settlement layer for the global economy. Ethlabs exists to ensure the network is ready to absorb that demand at scale, advancing a faster Ethereum with trustworthy interoperability, so institutions building on Ethereum can do so with the neutrality, resilience, privacy and security they require.

Cofounded by five former senior Ethereum Foundation researchers: Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf and Julian Ma, Ethlabs brings together researchers responsible for key contributions to finality, scaling, data availability, the virtual machine and protocol economics — the technologists who have guided the network through its most consequential upgrades over the past decade. This initiative gives that work a dedicated institutional home with stable, long-term funding.

The launch reflects a natural evolution of the Ethereum ecosystem. As the Ethereum Foundation refocuses on its core mandate and embraces a multi-node future, Ethlabs emerges as one of several independent organizations advancing the network in parallel. Ethlabs' early work will center on what institutions need to move onchain at scale: faster settlement, native issuance and cross-chain movement on robust infrastructure, capacity on mainnet and research that grounds ETH's monetary properties.

Thomas "Tom" Lee, Chairman of Bitmine. "We believe Ethereum is positioned to grow significantly in adoption by institutions and by AI agents. And naturally, the ecosystem needs to dramatically expand its investment in talent and research to support this growth. The formation of Ethlabs demonstrates that key stakeholders are stepping up to help ensure Ethereum remains a leading platform for decentralized finance. We believe positive momentum is building in the digital asset ecosystem, and initiatives like this strengthen the foundation of the ecosystem as the community works together to advance Ethereum's next chapter. As a significant institutional participant in the Ethereum ecosystem, Bitmine is excited to help serve as a steward of Ethereum's long-term growth and support the dedicated builders, researchers and innovators who are helping shape its future."

Joseph Chalom, Chief Executive Officer of Sharplink. "We are at the beginning of an institutional supercycle on Ethereum, and the researchers behind this organization are the people who will make the network ready to carry it. They have quietly shaped Ethereum for the better part of a decade, and giving their work a stable, independent home is one of the most meaningful contributions we can make to the ecosystem. We hold ETH because we believe in what this network is becoming, and supporting the people advancing it at the protocol level is the clearest way we know to back that conviction. This is what responsible stewardship looks like: using our position to drive the next wave of institutional adoption and to strengthen the foundation the entire onchain economy will be built on. Sharplink is proud to help bring Ethlabs to life, alongside our ecosystem partners."

Joe Lubin, Ethereum co-founder and founder and Chief Executive Officer of Consensys. "Ethereum is entering its next stage of evolution. We are now poised to recognize and implement the idea that there should be a number of steward nodes of Ethereum, each configured in their unique way to evolve and protect what is sacred about the network and massively grow the world's appreciation and utilization of it. With support from the Sharplink, Bitmine and many others, Ethlabs is the latest group of EF origin that is externalizing to become a major node of the network of "Responsible Institutions and Stewards of Ethereum". By providing a long-term, independent home to researchers and developers advancing Ethereum's core technology and values, Ethlabs will be instrumental in preparing the network for the next major wave of adoption, from institutional finance to agentic commerce, with the scale, security, interoperability and resilience that global institutions require. Today and going forward the Ethereum ecosystem will be further decentralized, enormously stronger with each steward more focused and empowered."

Ansgar Dietrichs, Executive Director of Ethlabs. "Ethereum is at a pivotal moment. A decade of uninterrupted operation and a track record of credible neutrality have earned it the trust of users and institutions around the world. As blockchain systems move rapidly into mainstream use, the coming years will define the shape of the onchain economy for decades. Ethereum is uniquely positioned to become the shared base layer of that economy, the neutral foundation the broader onchain ecosystem is built on, where users, institutions, and agents can transact and interoperate without intermediation. Ethlabs was created to help Ethereum realize that potential. As longtime contributors to the core protocol, we are establishing an independent non-profit organization to advance Ethereum's core technology and the shared standards and infrastructure builders depend on, and we are excited to carry forward that work at the moment it matters most."

The funding effort has been organized to preserve Ethlabs independence at every level. Contributions flow through an independent grants administrator that handles screening, valuation and disbursement. Funders provide accountability through transparent quarterly reporting and an independent annual audit, rather than influence over the research agenda. Final decisions on research priorities and technical direction will rest with Ethlabs leadership.

About Bitmine
Bitmine (NYSE: BMNR) is a Bitcoin miner with operations in the US. The company is deploying its excess capital to be the leading Ethereum Treasury company in the world, implementing an innovative digital asset strategy for institutional investors and public market participants. Guided by its philosophy of "the alchemy of 5%," the Company is committed to ETH as its primary treasury reserve asset, leveraging native protocol-level activities including staking and decentralized finance mechanisms. The Company launched MAVAN (Made-in America Validator Network), a dedicated staking infrastructure for Bitmine assets, in 2026.

About Sharplink
Sharplink (NASDAQ: SBET) is a leading institutional-grade Ethereum treasury platform designed to give public market investors smarter, more productive exposure to ETH. Ethereum underpins the majority of global stablecoin, tokenized real-world assets and decentralized finance settlement, making ETH a unique native yield generation and long-term network growth opportunity. Sharplink was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida. Learn more at www.sharplink.com.

About Ethlabs
Ethlabs is an independent, nonprofit research and development lab and ecosystem steward focused on the next era of growth for Ethereum and ETH. It exists to turn Ethereum's unique properties into infrastructure, standards, and outcomes that users, builders, institutions, and asset issuers can rely on. All of its research is published openly. Learn more at ethlabs.org.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding anticipated institutional interest in Ethereum, research focus and technical roadmaps, governance arrangements, grants administration and oversight mechanisms, and treasury and digital-asset strategies. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including market conditions for digital assets, regulatory changes, protocol-level developments or setbacks, the timing and success of research efforts, funding availability, and general economic conditions. Additional risk factors are described in Sharplink's and Bitmine's SEC filings at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, are not guarantees, and neither Sharplink nor Bitmine undertakes any obligation to update them except as required by law. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or digital asset.

** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **

Ethlabs, Founded by Former Ethereum Foundation Contributors and Funded by Bitmine, Sharplink and Joe Lubin, Launches to Accelerate Ethereum's Institutional Supercycle