At the current pace, it would take until 2030 for half of Nordic AI-adopting businesses to reach advanced use. Even so, Nordic growth in advanced adoption( 24 % to 28 %, a 17 % year-onyear rise) is well ahead of the European average( 21 % to 22 %, up 5 %).
This reflects both momentum and risk: a leading group of firms is advancing rapidly while most remain at pilot stage. Only 34 % of Nordic businesses have a full, comprehensive AI strategy – a critical step in moving from pilots to transformation. Supporting businesses at every stage of the journey will be essential as next-generation tools continue to compress innovation timelines.
1.3 The next wave of AI could widen this divide
Next-generation technologies – agentic AI, physical AI and advanced robotics – enable systems to plan, reason and act autonomously, with the potential to reshape industries and unlock new business models. Awareness is growing but deployment lags: 29 % of businesses have heard of agentic AI( versus a 24 % European average), yet only 4 % of those have fully deployed it, with a further 13 % experimenting or piloting. 56 % have plans or are considering it; 15 % have none.
Readiness is similarly polarised: just 21 % of businesses feel fully or very ready to adopt technologies like agentic AI, against 81 % of startups. A further 32 % feel slightly ready, and 39 % feel only somewhat or not ready at all. Among adopters, benefits are tangible:
• 45 % report faster decision-making
• More than a third( 34 %) report increased efficiency or productivity
• Almost a quarter( 23 %) report improved scalability
The main barriers to deeper adoption are skills shortages( 37 %), insufficient financial resources( 27 %) and legal uncertainty( 25 %). Left unaddressed, these constraints risk entrenching a two-tier AI economy, split between fast-moving early adopters and everyone else.
“NEXT-GENERATION TECH ENABLES SYSTEMS TO PLAN, REASON AND ACT AUTONOMOUSLY”
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