The market for securing artificial intelligence (AI) systems is projected to reach nearly $4.8 billion by 2027 and is expected to nearly double to $7.7 billion by 2028, according to Gartner.

The sector is set for rapid growth as enterprises ramp up investments in the technology while facing a new wave of cyber threats, the research firm said. The growing adoption of AI is creating new vulnerabilities for businesses, including risks linked to AI models, third-party software, open-source components and supply-chain attacks.

“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.

Gartner expects more than half of successful cyberattacks targeting AI agents by 2029 to exploit weaknesses in access controls and prompt injections. This is likely to push companies to deploy specialised tools to identify, monitor and protect AI systems, alongside their existing cybersecurity infrastructure.

“Traditional security tools often treat AI applications like any other software and need significant updates to address AI-specific threats,” Upadhyay said.

The market is broadly divided into four segments: AI application security, AI usage control, AI governance platforms and AI gateways.

AI application security is expected to remain the largest spending category in 2027, reaching nearly $851 million, followed by AI usage control at $749 million. However, AI usage control is forecast to be the fastest-growing segment, expanding 73%, while spending on AI gateways is expected to grow 70.9%.

The growth comes as enterprises increasingly deploy autonomous AI systems, which can introduce vulnerabilities that conventional security monitoring may not detect.

“As defenses like AI runtime protection and dedicated gateways become more reliable, organisations will gain confidence in these tools, accelerating adoption,” Upadhyay said.

Competition in the market is also expected to intensify. Gartner said established vendors are likely to retain their advantage in AI governance platforms and gateways by adding AI capabilities to existing enterprise products. Meanwhile, AI application security and AI usage control are attracting a growing number of startups.

The rapid expansion of the market could also trigger consolidation, with larger cybersecurity companies likely to acquire startups to expand their AI security offerings, Gartner said.

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