Investment in innovation is rising fast as artificial intelligence advances at speed. Companies are committing large sums to research in order to keep up with the technology. The World Intellectual Property Organization reports that businesses have been spending heavily on this work. That spending is going into the development of new technologies and the products built on them. The organization links the investment surge directly to the pace of AI's progress. Firms that want a place at the front of the field are treating research budgets as a necessity rather than a luxury.