Marketplace platforms are a dominant economic force globally, and have helped to change how businesses and consumers interact. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) represents a seismic technological shift, poised to reshuffle the deck once again.
Prosus, in collaboration with Dealroom.co, has released a new report into the future of online marketplaces. Titled “The AI x e-commerce revolution: how AI is shaping the future of online marketplaces”, the report describes the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping e-commerce, as the industry is radically transformed in the age of artificial intelligence.
Fabricio Bloisi, CEO of Prosus Group, comments: “Companies using AI are dramatically improving the user experience, enhancing personalisation and driving unprecedented growth. AI adoption is no longer optional – it’s an imperative.
“The recent release of DeepSeek’s R1 model is more than just a milestone in AI technology. This ‘DeepSeek moment’ is a transformative opportunity for businesses to accelerate value creation through new applications.”
Key findings from the report include:
- The AI App store is now open – as models and infrastructure are rapidly commoditising, we are seeing explosive growth and innovation at the application layer. We’re now closer to the value-accrual inversion between apps and infrastructure than many expected.
- The future of ecommerce is agentic – shopping agents are now poised to make autonomous purchasing decisions for us.
- Technology ecosystems are best positioned to win – they unlock a unique set of vast, interconnected data at scale, primed for AI innovation.