Life sciences AI investment has reached a four-year high, according to new Pistoia Alliance data, but leadership and prioritisation have overtaken workload as the biggest barriers to digital transformation in laboratories.
The organisation’s latest Lab of the Future findings show a sharp rise in technology investment intentions after three relatively flat years.
Three quarters (76%) of respondents plan to increase spending on technology over the next two years, compared with 60% in 2023, 62% in 2024 and 63% in 2025.
Life sciences AI investment reaches four-year high
The Pistoia Alliance said AI and machine learning investment has accelerated as laboratories move from planning towards wider adoption.
The findings were generated through live polling of experts at Lab of the Future Europe in Amsterdam alongside a broader survey of the life sciences community.
Dr Becky Upton, President of the Pistoia Alliance, said: “After three years where AI investment barely moved, this year’s leap is a clear signal that labs are now ready to act, not just plan.
“But investment alone doesn’t guarantee transformation or results. A peer-reviewed study of pharma AI use cases the Alliance published this year found that an organization’s maturity and leadership commitment matter more to success than the model or dataset used. That’s why we’re expanding our change management and training programs for our members – to help organizations close the gap between investing in AI and realizing its value.”
Further information on the findings is available from the Pistoia Alliance.
Leadership overtakes workload as main digital transformation barrier
While life sciences AI investment is increasing, the survey suggests organisational factors are becoming more significant obstacles to implementation.
A lack of clear prioritisation and leadership support was cited by 45% of respondents in 2026, up from 38% in 2025 and 33% in 2024.
Limited bandwidth, meanwhile, has fallen from 60% in 2024 to 30% in 2025 and 27% this year.
Resistance to change among laboratory staff also declined slightly, from 43% to 37%. However, concern over budget limitations increased from 29% in 2025 to 41% in 2026.
The figures suggest the challenge facing laboratories is shifting from whether organisations have enough technical capacity to whether they can manage and prioritise organisational change.
Pharma AI study highlights importance of organisational maturity
The latest survey findings are supported by separate peer-reviewed research backed by the Pistoia Alliance.
The study, published in the Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design, analysed 67 real-world pharmaceutical AI use cases and found that organisational maturity and leadership support were more closely associated with business success than the AI model or data source involved.
The research, Why do AI projects fail in drug development and pharma? Insights from multi-year Pistoia Alliance studies, examined recurring factors behind successful and unsuccessful AI projects in pharmaceutical research.
Dr Christian Baber, Chief Portfolio Officer at the Pistoia Alliance, said: “The barrier to AI success hasn’t disappeared, it’s simply moved from technical capacity to capacity for change.
“The message from our members is that visible and consistent leadership sponsorship all the way down the line, not just passive endorsement, is what actually moves projects forward. That’s why three of the Alliance’s communities are coming together to co-author practical guidelines on exactly this, from measuring ROI to deciding who funds and owns the change, which will be finalized at a workshop at our Boston conference this November.”
Labs focus on moving AI beyond pilot projects
The findings reflect a broader push across life sciences R&D to move artificial intelligence from isolated experiments into governed, operational environments.
Life Sciences Global News recently reported on Domino Data Lab and EPAM’s partnership to scale AI across life sciences R&D, including work around drug discovery, genomic analysis, statistical computing and real-world evidence.
The Pistoia Alliance plans to discuss its latest findings at its Boston Conference on 10–11 November 2026, where a working session will also focus on new digital transformation guidelines.
The organisation said three of its communities are collaborating on practical guidance covering areas including return on investment, funding responsibility and ownership of organisational change.
Source: Pistoia Alliance
