Global AI Agents: Prefer Global SaaS and Chinese Hyperscalers
Expect high revenue growth and profitability ahead
Chief Investment Office10 Apr 2025
  • Global software market is projected to grow 12% and reach a market value of USD1,789bn by 2032
  • ERP and CRM markets expected to grow 14% and 13% CAGR over 2024-2032 respectively
  • Alibaba, Amazon, and Microsoft among key hyperscalers in providing compute power and AI platforms
  • Prefer SaaS providers as they accelerate monetisation by directly integrating AI into products
  • Hyperscalers to maintain long-term dominance as they are key providers of AI infrastructure
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AI agents are benefitting businesses, while GenAI benefits consumers. Both Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems will benefit differently from Agentic AI. For example, the ERP system providers benefit from cost reductions and efficiency gains, making AI an essential element for complex workflows. On the other hand, AI adoption among CRM system providers is driven by more efficient customer interaction and a better user experience which enhances brand differentiation. Businesses focused on automation will adopt ERP Agentic AI, while those prioritising customer experience will choose CRM Agentic AI solutions.

AI agents drive cost efficiency. In the US, a physical human agent would cost USD15–25 per hour and handle 4-6 interactions, translating to a cost of USD4-6 per interaction. In comparison, adopting Salesforces’ Agentforce will halve the cost with each interaction at only USD2. Internally, the all-in per interaction cost (compute power, AI model licensing, API overhead) for using Agentforce is even lower at USD0.65-0.75. This effectively enhances the gross margin to a range of 60-70%. Furthermore, advancements in AI technology like DeepSeek are driving down operational costs (AI Model Licensing), further driving cost efficiency. In Mar 2025, Salesforce launched AgentExchange, a marketplace designed for partners, developers, and the Agentblazer community to build and monetise Agentforce solutions. This platform enables corporate users to adopt plug-and-play AI agents without heavy in-house development.

Favour hyperscalers in addition to ERP and CRM. Besides the aforementioned application providers, hyperscalers like Alibaba, Amazon, and Microsoft are equally important by providing compute power, storage platforms, and the vast SaaS ecosystem. Expect high revenue growth and profitability ahead. Major players such as Salesforce, SAP, and Alibaba reported above-consensus adjusted earnings in 4Q24 (calendar year), driven by cloud growth and AI deployment. In terms of forecast, Salesforce has guided revenue growth of 7-8% y/y for FY1/26F with their Agentforce and Data Cloud contributing USD900mn in annual recurring revenue in 4Q25, reflecting a 120% y/y growth. SAP forecasts cloud revenue growth of 26-28% in FY12/25, while the street expects Alibaba cloud revenue to achieve a CAGR of 18% over FY25F-FY27F. In addition to cloud revenue, Alibaba could potentially monetise its AI solutions such as: i) AI-To-Consumers Qwen Chat, ii) AI-To-Business Dingtalk, iii) AI search assistant, and iv) AI-related projects in Tmall within the next two to three years.

Prefer SaaS providers and Chinese hyperscalers. SaaS providers are well-positioned to accelerate AI service monetisation by integrating directly into their existing products, utilising the AI infrastructure, compute power, and storage of hyperscalers. In China, the hyperscalers are in the early stage of cloud revenue growth, while SaaS infrastructure providers have yet to catch up. ERP and CRM providers will gain significant advantages from AI agents globally. These applications will not only proactively generate insights for autonomous decision-making, but also automate system configurations, ultimately lowering costs and making advanced solutions accessible to businesses of all sizes. In this backdrop, Salesforce and SAP have higher exposure to the CRM and ERP segment, while Alibaba is the largest hyperscaler in China.


Figure 1: Global ERP and CRM software market size (USDbn)

Source: Fortune Business Insights, DBS



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