Rapid growth in edge AI developers and where the opportunity lies

Edge devices are becoming an increasingly important way for artificial intelligence (AI) to reach end users, from smartphones and laptops to wearables, industrial machines, and connected vehicles. Running models directly on these devices can improve responsiveness, support offline or low-connectivity scenarios, and reduce the need to transmit sensitive data to the cloud. At the same time, doing more on the device introduces new constraints around compute, power, storage, and how data privacy and security are managed in practice.

At the infrastructure level, recent industry analysis points to hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on edge computing over the next few years [ref1] and several trillion dollars of cumulative investment in AI-driven compute capacity by 2030 [ref2]. For anyone building hardware, frameworks, or platforms for AI at the edge, understanding how developers fit into this picture is essential. Here, we use SlashData’s latest Developer Nation data toestimate the size and growth of professional developers integrating AI into edge devices, and where this work is concentrated.

Find a deeper analysis on the full report.

11 million professional edge AI developers worldwide and growing

As of Q3 2025, we estimate that there are currently around 38.4 million professional developers worldwide. Of these developers, 29% (11 million) report building or integrating AI functionality on projects that target direct implementation into edge devices. We refer to this group as edge AI developers. Our data shows that edge AI is therefore already a substantial part of the AI developer ecosystem, rather than a niche reserved for early adopters.

There are currently around 38.4 million professional developers worldwide. Of these developers, 29% (11 million) report building or integrating AI functionality on projects that target direct implementation into edge devices.

We forecast that this population will receive substantial annual growth, even under conservative assumptions. In our conservative scenario, the number of edge AI developers is expected to rise by 30% to 14.3 million by late Q3 2026. Meanwhile, in the optimistic scenario, this figure reaches 18.1 million, representing a 64% increase. In both cases, the pool of developers integrating AI into edge devices is a moving target rather than a static market. As such, vendors should plan for a larger, more diverse edge AI audience in the near term.

For technology leaders, there are three clear implications:

1. Treat edge AI as a strategic focus area with dedicated product planning and clear ownership, rather than as an add-on to cloud-only AI initiatives.

2. Act early to capture default status with developers by using the coming year of growth to position your products, APIs, and hardware platforms as the natural choice for teams starting or expanding edge AI work.

3. Track edge AI separately from broader AI efforts, so that usage, community engagement, and revenue for edge-specific offerings are visible in their own right and can inform investment decisions.

Regional hotspots for edge AI development

As of Q3 2025, edge AI activity is concentrated in three major hubs. North America and Western Europe account for 3.1 million and 2.9 million edge AI developers, respectively, while the Greater China area forms a third major centre at about 2.4 million. By Q3 2026, these regions are projected to grow by 30% to 60%, making them the highest-priority markets for advanced edge AI offerings where both scale and absolute growth are strongest. 

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South Asia present notable but smaller markets, each with 800 thousand professional edge AI developers. However, we see major opportunities in our optimistic forecast, with both regions potentially reaching 1.4 million each by late Q3 2026. Vendors looking to grow in these two regions may benefit from lowering barriers to first deployments by offering accessible hardware options, opinionated tooling, and strong implementation support.

South America presents a more extreme case, where the focus on edge AI development is significantly lower than in other regions. As such, penetrating this market may require a longer-term commitment, with particular emphasis on education, partnerships, and solutions that clearly demonstrate value under tighter resource constraints. At the same time, there is considerable interest and clear indications of increased activity over the next 12 months. This combination of low current penetration and rising intent points to significant headroom for growth for vendors prepared to invest early and build a presence over time.

Edge AI is already a mainstream developer activity with clear room to grow

Taken together, these findings show that edge AI is already a mainstream developer activity with clear room to grow, rather than an early-stage experiment. There are already 11 million professional developers working on AI functionality for edge devices worldwide, with an expected annual growth rate between 30% and 64% at the present time. North America, Western Europe, and the Greater China area are leading both in scale and growth, highlighting the three natural priority markets for edge AI offerings. Meanwhile, the Middle East & Africa, South Asia, and South America represent smaller markets with headroom for investment.

Building tooling for edge AI? Access our full report, which breaks down device targets, integration patterns, and adoption barriers. 

About the author

Nikita Solodkov, Principal Research Consultant at SlashData Nikita Solodkov is a multidisciplinary researcher with a particular interest in using data-driven insights to solve real-world problems. He holds a PhD in Physics and has over five years of experience in data analytics and research design