Kong Inc., a leader in cloud API technologies, has released its 2025 report, What's Next for Generative AI in the Enterprise, detailing enterprise adoption of Large Language Models (LLMs). The study reveals a surge in generative AI investment, with 72% of enterprises planning to increase spending in 2025, driven by its potential to enhance productivity and innovation across industries.
72% of enterprises plan to ramp up generative AI spending in 2025.
44% cite governance and security as top barriers to LLM adoption.
Google’s AI models lead usage at 69%, followed by OpenAI at 55%.
80% of respondents consider using DeepSeek despite privacy concerns.
AI-powered chatbots and code generation are dominant LLM use cases.
51% believe open-source LLMs will outperform proprietary models.
The report highlights a significant shift toward generative AI, with 72% of enterprises planning to increase LLM investments in 2025, and nearly 40% committing over $250,000 this year. This reflects AI’s growing role in automating tasks like coding, documentation, and API testing, as well as accelerating software development workflows. “AI adoption is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, and organizations that can keep up will have a clear competitive edge,” said Marco Palladino, CTO and Co-Founder of Kong Inc.
In Q1 2025, Google’s AI models surged to 69% usage among respondents, overtaking OpenAI’s 55%. Meta and IBM models lag at 38% and 26%, respectively. Meanwhile, DeepSeek, a newer entrant, has gained traction, with 80% of respondents open to its use, though 68% of non-users cite privacy concerns. Security and data privacy compliance remain critical, with 31% prioritizing these when selecting LLM providers.
Enterprises face significant hurdles in scaling AI adoption. Data privacy and security concerns top the list for 44% of respondents, followed by cost constraints (24%) and integration challenges with legacy systems (14%). These barriers underscore the need for robust AI infrastructure to ensure scalability and compliance. “This report highlights that while enterprises are moving in the right direction, future success will be dependent on having a robust AI infrastructure in place,” Palladino added.
Despite challenges, 46% of developers view generative AI as a tool for boosting productivity and innovation. Dominant use cases include AI-powered chatbots (27%) and code generation (26%), with 63% of respondents using paid LLM versions. Additionally, 51% believe open-source LLMs will surpass proprietary models, while 37% favor a hybrid approach. Microsoft Azure AI leads as the most-used platform (45%), followed by OpenAI (41%) and Google Vertex AI (35%).
Kong’s findings signal a transformative year for generative AI in 2025. As enterprises increase investments and navigate adoption challenges, strategic focus on security, infrastructure, and open-source solutions will drive success, positioning organizations to leverage AI for competitive advantage.
Kong Inc., a leading developer of cloud API technologies, is on a mission to enable companies around the world to become "API-first" and securely accelerate AI adoption. Kong helps organizations globally — from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises — unleash developer productivity, build securely, and accelerate time to market.
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