CES 2025: how edge AI stole the show

Many AI announcements in Q1 2026 focused on telecoms operators and partners building out sovereign capabilities to satisfy national requirements around data residency, compute and LLMs. Meanwhile, investment in agentic AI build-outs has extended beyond networks and software to machines, drones, cars and other industrial assets – so-called ‘physical AI’. As well as recent developments from the telco AI space and the Telco AI tracker, this edition provides a deep dive on the implications of the growth of on-device AI.

Updated in March 2026, this report presents the latest forecasts and views on the evolution of the IoT market, the key changes between the new and previous forecasts, and forecasts up to 2035. The global IoT market will reach 40.8 billion connections by 2030 and 52.9 billion by 2035. Enterprise applications are the primary growth driver, expanding from 65% of total connections in 2030 to 69% by 2035, led by smart buildings, manufacturing, and utilities.

The global IoT market will reach 40.8 billion connections by 2030, growing at 8% CAGR during 2023-2030, and is forecast to expand further to 52.9 billion connections by 2035 at a moderated CAGR of 5% during 2030–2035. Enterprise IoT will drive the market, with the share of enterprise IoT connections expanding from 65% in 2030 to 69% by 2035, led by smart buildings (15% CAGR to 2030), smart manufacturing (12%) and smart utilities (10%). The forecast includes annual connections data through to 2035, with regional and vertical breakdowns.