Hedge funds and other investment managers spent approximately $2.8bn on alternative data in 2025, up 17% year-on-year, according to Neudata in a new report.
Below the headline increase in spend, one of the key findings of Neudata’s report is that, despite the rapid rise of AI throughout 2025, vendors adding AI features or services did not drive an above expected uplift in overall buyer spending on alternative data.
Investment firms are increasingly using AI/LLMs primarily for internal productivity and workflow efficiency (66% of respondents), rather than optimising investment strategies (31%).
“Some providers are benefiting from AI-led differentiation, and demand is growing for datasets that help investors quantify the AI boom itself – but overall, AI is changing how data is consumed, not how much buyers are spending with vendors,” said Daryl Smith, head of research at Neudata.
Using proprietary platform data from 2,805 datasets listed on Neudata’s Scout platform, alongside buyer survey insights, the report analyses how alternative data spending has evolved over the past year by dataset type, geography and use case.
If current growth trends persist, Neudata estimates the alternative data market could reach approximately $23.1bn by 2030, reinforcing the sector’s position as a structurally important component of the investment data ecosystem.
The report is available to download here.