Santander report flags shift in enterprise AI toward specialized models in regulated sectors

Santander published a market outlook on B2B enterprise AI, forecasting a shift from general-purpose LLMs to specialized models.

• The report analyzed 10.3 million documents and 326,000 specialist publications, flagging data sovereignty, auditability and regulatory compliance as key adoption drivers.
• Europe is seen as better positioned in regulated-sector AI due to governance frameworks, despite lower 2024 private AI investment than the US.
• US private AI investment reached USD 109 billion in 2024 versus USD 19.42 billion in Europe, shaping competitive dynamics in foundational models.
• Small language models and sovereign RAG architectures are expected to gain traction as firms separate models from corporate knowledge to retain information control.