Gartner Forecasts the Market for Securing AI Will Reach $4.8 Billion in 2027

The market for securing AI is growing rapidly, projected to reach almost $4.8 billion in 2027, a 68.7% increase over 2026, according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company. By 2028, the market is forecast to reach almost $7.7 billion.

"This surge is driven by the urgent need for enterprises to secure AI systems, address emerging vulnerabilities and strengthen defenses against sophisticated cyberthreats," said Shailendra Upadhyay, Senior Principal Analyst at Gartner. "This is compounded by growing vulnerabilities and supply chain attacks involving third-party and open-source software in AI projects. Without adequate security and visibility controls, enterprise AI initiatives face a high risk of failure."

Gartner predicts over half of successful cyberattacks on AI agents are expected to exploit access control weaknesses and prompt injections by 2029. There is a growing need for organizations to identify, monitor and protect AI models from these unique threats, which is driving the adoption of advanced AI security solutions. To build a strong defense, businesses need to combine their existing security systems with specialized AI security tools.

“Traditional security tools often treat AI applications like any other software and need significant updates to address AI-specific threats," said Upadhyay. "Specialized solutions, such as AI usage control and application security, will see rapid growth as solutions that address these challenges.”

The market for securing AI is divided into four main areas: AI application security, AI usage control, AI governance platforms, and AI gateways. This includes a range of software and platforms designed to help organizations use AI safely, responsibly, and in line with regulations.

AI application security will remain the largest spending category in 2027, forecast to reach almost $851 million, followed by AI usage control at $749 million. However, AI usage control will experience the largest growth of 73%, followed by AI gateway at 70.9% (see Table 1).

Table 1: Securing AI Opportunity by Segment (Millions of U.S. Dollars), 2026-2027

^{Source: Gartner (August 2026)}

“As defenses like AI runtime protection and dedicated gateways become more reliable, organizations will gain confidence in these tools, accelerating adoption,” said Upadhyay. “At the same time, as businesses expand their AI initiatives, the need for specialized AI security solutions will further grow, especially as autonomous AI introduces new vulnerabilities beyond the reach of traditional monitoring.”

Market Competition
According to Gartner, competition in the securing AI market varies depending on the segment. For AI governance platforms and AI gateways, which often build on existing enterprise systems for governance, data, and API management, major vendors are likely to maintain their lead by adding AI features or integrating specialized products. On the other hand, the AI application security and AI usage control segments are seeing a wave of startups entering the field.

"As the market grows, we can expect increased consolidation and acquisitions, with larger cybersecurity companies buying these startups to broaden their offerings," said Upadhyay. "Overall, the fast-paced growth in this space is fueling intense competition among vendors as they vie for market share."