AI in Powered Direct-to-Device Market Report 2026

The artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $5.21 billion in 2025 to $7.53 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44.5%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to increasing deployment of edge artificial intelligence (AI) processors in consumer devices, rising demand for real-time on-device inference, growing adoption of privacy-preserving artificial intelligence (AI) models, increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) functions in smartphones and wearables, and rising popularity of voice-enabled smart assistants.

The artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $32.55 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44.2%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growing need for low-latency decision-making at the device level, increasing availability of optimized on-device neural networks, rising use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cameras and imaging systems, growing shift from cloud-dependent artificial intelligence (AI) to hybrid edge architectures, and increasing focus on energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) hardware accelerators. Major trends in the forecast period include advancement of lightweight on-device artificial intelligence (AI) models, innovation in artificial intelligence (AI)-optimized chipsets for edge processing, integration of multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into consumer devices, advancement of federated learning frameworks for enhanced privacy, and innovation in tinyml techniques for ultra-low-power artificial intelligence (AI).

The growing demand for smart home and Internet of Things (IoT) devices is expected to drive the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device (D2D) market in the coming years. Smart home and IoT devices include internet-connected appliances, sensors, and electronics that enable automation, remote control, and data-driven insights for improved convenience, energy efficiency, and security. This demand is rising due to consumer preference for seamless connectivity and intelligent home management. AI in powered D2D supports these devices by providing on-device intelligence, enabling real-time processing, autonomous decision-making, predictive maintenance, and personalized user experiences without full reliance on cloud connectivity. For example, in November 2023, the Consumer Technology Association, a US-based industry organization, reported that the installed base of smart home devices in the United States reached 432.6 million units, with smart appliances totaling 37.7 million units owned by 19% of households and smart home security cameras reaching 55.8 million units owned by 25% of households. Hence, the increasing adoption of smart home and IoT devices is fueling growth in the AI in powered D2D market.

Major companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device (D2D) market are focusing on advanced technologies, such as sustainable decentralized AI infrastructure, to improve data privacy, reduce latency, and enable user-controlled AI experiences. Decentralized AI infrastructure refers to distributed networks that perform AI data processing, model training, and computation across multiple nodes without central authority control. For example, in September 2025, Gaia Inc., a US-based AI infrastructure company, launched the Gaia AI Phone, promoted as the first smartphone designed for full AI sovereignty. The device processes AI tasks locally via its proprietary Gaia AI Platform, operates as a full network node, and allows users to contribute computational resources to the decentralized AI network while earning token rewards. The phone compresses enterprise-grade AI models to run efficiently on mobile hardware and integrates exclusive partner solutions for a complete ecosystem. This launch marks a significant technological advancement by combining on-device AI processing with decentralized network participation, expanding AI capabilities while preserving privacy and establishing a user-centric AI infrastructure.

In March 2025, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., a US-based semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company, acquired Edge Impulse Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Through this acquisition, Qualcomm aims to enhance its Internet of Things (IoT) and AI capabilities by integrating Edge Impulse’s edge-AI development workflows with Qualcomm’s IoT hardware platforms, enabling faster deployment of AI-powered solutions for sensor data processing, predictive maintenance, and intelligent device applications across industries. Edge Impulse Inc. is a US-based provider of edge-AI development platforms, enabling AI to run directly on devices.

Major companies operating in the artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market are Apple Inc., Google LLC, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., NVIDIA Corporation, Intel Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., MediaTek Inc., NXP Semiconductors N.V., VeriSilicon Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ambarella Inc., Tenstorrent Inc., EdgeCortix Inc., Hailo Technologies Ltd., Axelera AI B.V., SiMa.ai Inc., Orbbec 3D Technology International, Nexa AI, Syntiant Corporation, Blaize Inc.

North America was the largest region in the artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report’s Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

Tariffs have impacted the artificial intelligence in powered direct-to-device market by increasing costs of imported semiconductors, AI processors, and advanced electronic components. The impact is most pronounced in hardware intensive segments and in regions such as Asia-Pacific and North America that depend on global chip supply chains. To mitigate risks, companies are diversifying manufacturing locations and investing in domestic chip development. In some cases, tariffs have encouraged localized innovation and strengthened regional edge AI ecosystems.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device refers to systems in which AI algorithms are embedded directly within devices to enable real-time data processing, decision-making, and automation without heavy reliance on external servers. This approach improves speed, privacy, and responsiveness by performing intelligence locally on the device. It enables smarter, more autonomous device operations through localized learning, adaptive behavior, and optimized performance.

The main components of AI in powered direct-to-device include hardware, software, and services. Hardware comprises physical computing components such as processors, sensors, chipsets, and embedded systems that enable AI processing directly on end-user devices, supporting real-time data analysis, low-latency decision-making, enhanced privacy, and reduced reliance on centralized cloud infrastructure. Technology types include natural language processing, machine learning, computer vision, edge AI, and others. Device types include smartphones and tablets, wearables, edge computing devices, connected consumer devices, and more, serving industry verticals such as healthcare, IT and telecom, consumer electronics, manufacturing, automotive, retail and e-commerce, defense and aerospace, and others.

The artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as developing on-device AI models, integrating edge processing capabilities, optimizing device-level algorithms, offering maintenance and software updates, and delivering technical support for intelligent device operations. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The artificial intelligence (AI) in powered direct-to-device market includes sales of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled chips, embedded software solutions, intelligent device modules, on-device processing tools, and integrated components. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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