This is the finding of a recent survey conducted by Bitkom Research of 321 German startups. It shows that founders of new companies are far more agile than established companies when it comes to adapting AI technology: Across all German industry, just 2% of companies are currently leveraging this disruptive technology, and 86% also see no reason to do anything about this in the near future.

The only other disruptive technologies more popular with startups than AI are cloud computing (65%) and data analysis and big data (48%). A glance at the plans of young entrepreneurs shows which other technologies could soon be in vogue: 32% want to focus more on data analysis and big data and 26% are considering using blockchain technology. 5G (23%) and the Internet of Things (22%) also feature in startups’ plans. The digitalization champions therefore make the ideal cooperation partners to help bring established companies up to speed .