Skip to content
Slow Variables

Ask the data

Answers come from the same store as the site; every number is checked against the record it cites.

Deployment & application

Application layer's share of enterprise generative-AI spend (Menlo)

emerging55/95 confidence, mixed or hard to operationalisegrade Bcoincident

1What this measures

Enterprise spend on generative-AI applications as a share of total enterprise generative-AI spend in the US, per Menlo Ventures' annual buyer survey (derived metric enterprise_app_spend_share).

Why it matters. The only published layer split of enterprise dollars. A rising application share means buyers' money is landing above the model layer, where the model-tax question starts.

Proxy types
capital_flow
Unit
share
Cadence
annual

2How we track this

Direction over 1 periods, dead-band 5.0%; higher = concentrating.

Two annual waves, so the trend is one step; a move under five points is within survey error. Rising application share = value concentrating at the application layer.

Applied to metric:enterprise_app_spend_share.

3Tracker interpretation

Applications took a third of enterprise generative-AI dollars in 2024 and half in 2025; the money is moving up the stack even as chips keep the margin.

4Evidence

Direction over the last 1 periods; the band is ±5.0% around the window's first point. Higher reads concentrating.

Latest point
51.4%as of 2025-12-31(2 obs)
Value the bands apply to
51.4%as of 2025-12-31(2 obs)

4 observations. Hollow points are disputed (see counterevidence). Every point links to its observation.

Derived rows (2)
as ofdimsvalueinputs
2025-12-3151.4%obs:6012e72eobs:790ba59b
2024-12-3133.3%obs:eb8d37a9obs:fbc90648

5Status and reasoning

emergingsince 2026-09-10 · evaluate

Menlo Ventures' buyer surveys: applications took $4.6B of $13.8B enterprise generative-AI spend in 2024 (33%) and $19B of $37B in 2025 (51%), an 18-point rise against a five-point dead band, so the direction reads concentrating at the application layer. Capped at emerging because Menlo is the only source and a survey is tier 6; a second, independent layer split would lift the cap. Initial seed.

6Timeline notes

  • 2025-12-31 · 51.4%as of 2025-12-31(2 obs)
  • 2024-12-31 · 33.3%as of 2024-12-31(2 obs)

7Counterevidence

What cuts against this reading

Survey of a few hundred buyers, not filings; scope excludes chips, standalone inference and embedded features, so the infrastructure denominator is understated; two waves only.

8Update history

  1. 2026-09-10unmeasured to emergingconf — → 55 · evaluate

    Menlo Ventures' buyer surveys: applications took $4.6B of $13.8B enterprise generative-AI spend in 2024 (33%) and $19B of $37B in 2025 (51%), an 18-point rise against a five-point dead band, so the direction reads concentrating at the application layer. Capped at emerging because Menlo is the only source and a survey is tier 6; a second, independent layer split would lift the cap. Initial seed.

    obs:6012e72eobs:790ba59b

9Confidence

55 / 95 — mixed or hard to operationalise

Confidence is independent of status: 90–95 multiple strong independent sources; 70–89 good evidence, some ambiguity; 50–69 mixed or hard to operationalise; below 50 limited or vague.

10Related