Despite plenty of challenges, Signify Research forecasts that the global imaging AI market will nearly quadruple by 2026, as AI “crosses the chasm” towards widespread adoption. Here’s how Signify sees that transition happening:
Market Growth – After generating global revenues of around $375M in 2020 and $400M and 2021, Signify expects the imaging AI market to maintain a massive 27.6% CAGR through 2026 when it reaches nearly $1.4B.
Product-Led Growth – This growth will be partially driven by the availability of new and more-effective AI products, following:
- An influx of new regulatory-approved solutions
- Continued improvements to current products (e.g. adding triage to detection tools)
- AI leaders expanding into new clinical segments
- AI’s evolution from point solutions to comprehensive solutions/workflows
- The continued adoption AI platforms/marketplaces
The Big Four – Imaging AI’s top four clinical segments (breast, cardiology, neurology, pulmonology) represented 87% of the AI market in 2021, and those segments will continue to dominate through 2026.
VC Support – After investing $3.47B in AI startups between 2015 and 2021, Signify expects that VCs will remain a market growth driver, while their funding continues to shift toward later stage rounds.
Remaining Barriers – AI still faces plenty of barriers, including limited reimbursements, insufficient economic/ROI evidence, stricter regulatory standards (especially in EU), and uncertain future prioritization from healthcare providers and imaging IT vendors.
The Takeaway
2022 has been a tumultuous year for AI, bringing a number of notable achievements (increased adoption, improving products, new reimbursements, more clinical evidence, big funding rounds) that sometimes seemed to be overshadowed by AI’s challenges (difficult funding climate, market consolidation, slower adoption than previously hoped).
However, Signify’s latest research suggests that 2022’s ups-and-downs might prove to be part of AI’s path towards mainstream adoption. And based on the steeper growth Signify forecasts for 2025-2026 (see chart above), the imaging AI market’s growth rate and overall value should become far greater after it finally “crosses the chasm.”
