Gartner: Winning in the edge
Computer Weekly, Monday, October 26th, 2026
Gartner analyst Jimmy Chuang outlines how edge AI providers can win by selling managed, sovereign token services rather than raw GPU capacity.
Based on a Gartner report, this piece by analyst Jimmy Chuang groups edge AI providers into four types: CDNs such as Akamai and Cloudflare, telecoms operators, regional neoclouds such as CoreWeave, and hyperscaler cloud-to-edge products.
Gartner argues that raw GPU leasing is becoming a commodity and that providers should instead offer token-as-a-service platforms that orchestrate agentic workflows and shield customers from runaway token costs.
It sees consumer agentic apps as the near-term volume driver, with physical and spatial AI as growth areas.
Demand for sovereign AI is also rising, creating an opening for routing engines that move inference between public cloud models and regional hosted alternatives.