WHY IBM WILL WIN

ESTIMATED 2017 REVENUE

$77.8 billion

MARKET CAP*

$135 billion

EARLY INTEREST IN AI

Pioneering IBM engineer Arthur Samuel coined the phrase machine learning and in 1959 developed a first-of-its-kind program that could play checkers and learn from its experience.

PHILOSOPHY

Help businesspeople be better at their jobs, whether they’re doctors or tax preparers.

REVEALING QUOTE

“We are the ones that woke up the AI world here again,” IBM CEO Ginni Rometty told the CNBC personality Jim Cramer in June.

KEY ACQUISITION

The Weather Company (around $2 billion, 2016) gave IBM access to approximately 2.2 billion forecast points worldwide, all transmitting data that Watson churns through to fuel multiple client services.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT

In September, IBM and MIT announced a 10-year partnership in an AI lab; one research goal is developing algorithms to solve complex business problems, a complement to Watson’s industry-focused approach.

WHY IT IS AHEAD

IBM may not have the revenue momentum of its tech peers, but it has established Watson as the strongest brand in AI.