A few weeks ago, I hit pause on Market Signals. The format wasn't working - I wrote about that decision here.
Last week, we soft-launched the rebuilt format with Europe's AI market scan. This week, it's North America's turn.
Here's how this works now: Market Signals drops every Wednesday with a structured 30-day regional scan. We rotate through Europe, North America, the GCC, Latin America, and APAC so each region gets a fresh read roughly once a month.
We've also launched something new: Regulatory Changes, a monthly feed of AI regulation that actually matters (consultations, draft laws, enforcement actions, and guidance) mapped by geography, sector, and risk domain. The November edition is live now.
Let's get into it.
—M
Trend 1: Agentic AI and Verticalized Enterprise Solutions
Agentic AI refers to autonomous systems comprised of multiple, cooperating AI agents capable of executing complex, end-to-end workflows. There has been a rapid shift from research and experimental development to commercial enterprise deployment. Innovations are increasingly targeted at highly verticalized, industry-specific applications - especially in healthcare, legal, insurance, and HR - embedding agentic AI directly into core business processes.
Associated Signals & Sources
Product Launches & Innovations:
Cognizant’s Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator and Multi-Agent Services Suite facilitate the deployment of governing networks of specialized AI agents for verticals such as banking, insurance, and healthcare
Phenom X+ Ontologies and X+ Agent Studio, launched March 2025, deliver a new generation of AI designed to model role-specific skills and automate all stages of the talent lifecycle
Microsoft’s October 2025 release of an open-source agentic AI framework enables the development of composite AI applications
LinkSquares’ May 2025 Risk Scoring Agent uses AI to automate dynamic legal contract risk analysis in real time
BriteCore’s September 2025 insurance automation updates enhance AI-driven search, adjuster assignment, and payment processes
Healthcare: Phreesia’s VoiceAI automates patient triaging and call management, reducing hold times by routing inquiries directly to the right provider workflow, while Rad AI’s physician-led platform streamlines radiology reporting, and Intuitive’s da Vinci 5 robot is designed as an AI-ready surgical suite
Enterprise Uptake & Momentum:
Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (Nov 2025) shows leading AI companies across verticals experiencing triple-digit growth, with health AI and enterprise SaaS foremost
Boston Scientific’s AI Center of Excellence focuses on AI for pre-procedural planning in cardiac medicine
Potential Impact
Agentic AI promises dramatic gains in workflow automation and productivity, enabling operational scaling and significant cost reduction across health, legal, insurance, and HR sectors.
It can automate knowledge-intensive processes, support new digital service models, and reduce administrative burdens (e.g., automating up to 40% of routine enterprise workflows by 2028).
In healthcare, agentic solutions directly address workforce shortages and cognitive load, reducing burnout and errors.
Stage of Adoption
Transition from late pilot to early mainstream. Fortune 1000 firms are deploying agentic AI in production environments.
Rapid ARR growth in sectors such as healthcare (radiology, surgical robotics), HR-tech (automated talent management), and insurtech (claims automation).
Increasing institutional investment and partnership activity to expand use cases.
Implication
Could automate 20–40% of routine enterprise workflows by 2028, sharply reducing administrative costs and creating “co-pilot” roles for knowledge workers
Trend 2: Rapid AI Adoption and Infrastructure Scalability
AI is being integrated at an unprecedented rate across North American industries, catalyzed by large-scale private investment, a race to expand AI-capable infrastructure (cloud, GPUs, data pipelines), and a focus on operationalizing AI beyond pilots. The U.S. dominates global AI spending, with AI now underpinning most digital transformation efforts.
Associated Signals & Sources
Market Data:
North America holds 36.9% share of the global AI market
U.S. leads in private AI investment ($109B in 2024) and data center expansion.
Product Launches & Infrastructure:
NVIDIA’s DGX Cloud Lepton (announced May 2025) connects AI developers to NVIDIA GPU cloud providers for flexible model training/deployment
NVIDIA Dynamo open-source inference stack, debuting at GTC 2025, enables high-throughput, low-latency serving of genAI models
Enterprise Surveys & Market Reports:
74% of firms now rank AI as a top-3 strategic priority; most are moving pilots to production with revenue/cost impact
SMEs are also ramping up adoption: projected 53% growth for large firms, 27% for small businesses in 2025
Record job creation and surging demand for AI skills.
Industry Segment Trends:
Payments and e-commerce: AI is scaled rapidly for fraud detection, personalization, and risk management, with proven ROI for U.S. firms. Canadian projects are mostly in pilot stages
Potential Impact
Accelerates sector-wide innovation in healthcare, IT, finance, and manufacturing.
Drives new business models, digital products, and enhanced customer experiences.
Infrastructure investment is multiplying North America’s AI economic potential, supporting strong network effects for platform players.
North America’s AI market could reach $1.81 trillion by 2030 at a 35.9% CAGR
Stage of Adoption
Mainstream for large organizations; multi-solution operationalization underway.
Strong momentum in SME and mid-market adoption, supported by commoditization of AI tools, cloud access, and robust developer ecosystems.
Implication
Infrastructure investment and deployment could triple AI’s economic impact by 2030 -potentially adding over $1 trillion in GDP with continued scaling and talent development
Trend 3: Regulation, Fragmented Compliance, and Responsible AI Governance
North America (especially the U.S.) is experiencing heightened tensions between federal and state-level AI regulation, leading to a patchwork of compliance obligations. There is a simultaneous, strong push for responsible AI frameworks (auditability, transparency, data governance) as legal, reputational, and societal risks loom large.
Associated Signals & Sources
Federal vs. State Legislative Activity:
Congress is weighing federal preemption proposals to unify and supersede state AI regulation, aiming to streamline compliance and boost global competitiveness. However, a coalition of 36 state Attorneys General opposes these efforts, citing the importance of local protections e.g., combating deepfakes, discriminatory algorithms
The White House, as of last month, paused a draft executive order that would preempt state AI laws, maintaining a fragmented compliance landscape while further consultation occurs
State Laws (Nov–Dec 2025):
Multiple states (California, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin) have passed or advanced AI-specific legislation targeting health disclosures, child safety, and consumer transparency
Industry Analysis:
North America accounts for 31% of all global AI governance spend. The U.S. market ($67M in 2025) is projected to reach $1.07B by 2034
EY’s latest survey (Nov 2025): While 88% of employees use AI at work, companies are realizing only about 60% of potential AI productivity, citing lack of robust talent/governance strategies
Potential Impact
Increased compliance costs and operational complexity for cross-state businesses.
Risk of “regulatory chill” slowing AI product launches or scaling.
Strong governance and responsible AI practices can be leveraged as competitive differentiators - critical as customers and regulators demand transparency (especially in regulated industries: healthcare, finance, insurance).
Stage of Adoption
Early- to mid-stage for most: foundational responsible AI frameworks are being set up, with advanced controls piloted at industry leaders.
Expanding market for AI governance software and consulting.
Implication
Ongoing legal and regulatory uncertainty may delay or re-shape AI launches, but mastery of responsible AI will be crucial for securing trust and value
Trend 4: AI Patent Innovation Surge and IP Automation
There has been a pronounced increase in AI-related patent filings, especially in generative and quantum AI, reflecting technological innovation and strong awareness of AI’s foundational economic role in North America. In tandem, the market for AI-driven IP analytics and automated patent searching is expanding rapidly.
Associated Signals & Sources
Patent Statistics:
U.S. AI patent grants rose 56% since 2020, reaching 54,022 in 2024, with notable surges in computer technology and generative AI areas
Quantum AI patent applications are increasing, with North American innovation leading this frontier
Legal and Regulatory:
The USPTO clarified in July 2024 that AI-assisted inventions are patentable as long as subject-matter eligibility is met. However, inventorship must reference an actual human inventor
Agentic IP Platforms:
NLPatent, an AI-driven platform, supports automated patent research, visualization, and workflow management, reducing legal workloads and enhancing R&D insight velocity
Potential Impact
Strengthens North America’s leadership in AI innovation and enables faster time-to-market via improved patent intelligence.
May create “patent thicket” risks and increase IP defense and licensing costs; litigation and M&A activity likely to increase as portfolios grow.
SME adoption of automated IP tools may help level the playing field in innovation.
Stage of Adoption
Mainstream for major tech/industry players in patent filings; early but accelerating adoption of AI-driven IP tools in law firms and R&D-intensive enterprises.
Implication
Expect more litigation, M&A, and partnership activity as AI IP portfolios balloon; agentic IP tools lower barriers to competitive intelligence and innovation tracking
