Top R&D Spenders: The Biggest Investors
Which companies spend the most on research and development?
It’s easy to buy goods and resell them for profit. But this is not the model most companies use to expand. They want to be unique. They want to be the only provider of a certain product. They want to make history.
So what do they do?
They invest heavily in research and development to make sure they come up with the next big thing, as the average R&D spending by industry figures show us.
First, let’s line up the top R&D investors:
Top 20 R&D Spenders
- Amazon: $85.6 billion
- Alphabet: $45.4 billion
- Meta: $38.5 billion
- Merck & Co.: $30.5 billion
- Apple: $29.9 billion
- Microsoft: $29.0 billion
- Volkswagen: $23.6 billion
- Samsung: $22.7 billion
- Huawei: $22.0 billion
- Roche: $15.7 billion
- Johnson & Johnson: $15.1 billion
- Toyota Motor: $12.8 billion
- Intel: $12.0 billion
- Pfizer: $9.1 billion
- Novartis: $8.8 billion
- NVIDIA: $8.7 billion
- BMW: $8.2 billion
- General Motors: $7.8 billion
- Robert Bosch: $7.5 billion
- Ford Motor: $7.4 billion
We have them all listed in this fabulous infographic.
Research and development are crucial for business. Companies pump billions into their R&D divisions. Most of these expenses may never return any benefits. If they do, however, they are likely to generate astonishing amounts of revenue.
Next, we want to focus on the top 20 R&D investors. We will examine what they do and why they need research and development.
While our ranking is based on data from 2023-2024, these companies will continue to be among the biggest investors in research and development.
Top R&D Spenders
You wouldn’t believe the kind of cash these firms inject into R&D!
1. Amazon
R&D Spending: $85.6 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Amazon tops the list of biggest R&D investors among companies. Currently, it is the biggest cloud computing provider and one of the major players in e-commerce, logistics, and artificial intelligence.
According to CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon alone poured $85.622 billion into technology and infrastructure in 2023, which includes R&D. The Seattle-headquartered company’s spending reflects Amazon’s ambition to lead not just in e-commerce, but in a growing number of fields ranging from cloud computing and AI to robotics, logistics, and healthcare.
How’s that for smart investment in research and development?
2. Alphabet
R&D Spending: $45.4 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Alphabet has been investing heavily in R&D, looking for new ways to monetize the data it collects from users and advance artificial intelligence. It spends an astonishing $45.4 billion on innovations in 2023.
As one of the top investing companies, most of Google spends most of its R&D budget on employee salaries and buildings management. The company is focused on improving its impressive range of products and services while also launching new AI products.
Alphabet’s main source of income continues to be search and advertising, but that’s not the only niche the company is pouring money into. Alphabet is positioning its dominance in search and its research expertise through Google DeepMind to launch AI models ranging from Alphafold 3 for protein structure prediction to Gemini, its answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
3. Meta
R&D Spending: $38.5 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Meta, after a costly foray into the metaverse, has shifted its focus to AI, spending $38.48 billion on R&D in 2023. The company is now funneling its considerable resources into developing its large language model, LLaMA, and is weaving AI into its products, from generative filters on Instagram to AI-powered ad creation tools.
So, the impressive Meta R&D spending should come as no surprise. The company is all about making innovative social media experiences and artificial intelligence solutions.
The company takes its innovations seriously. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is planning to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in capital expenditures on AI in 2025.
4. Merck & Co.
R&D Spending: $30.5 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Big pharma is no joke.
Pharmaceutical companies make billions selling drugs. But for each new product that comes to the market, billions of investment in research and development are needed.
Sometimes, it can take years and the work of thousands of researchers before a new product can hit the shelves.
But how much do pharmaceutical companies spend on research and development anyway? In Merck & Co.’s case, it’s $30.5 billion per year, making it the highest R&D spender among pharmaceutical companies globally.
This is why Merck is as much an R&D company as it is a healthcare company. One of its primary goals is finding the mechanism of diseases, crafting a cure for them, and patenting its discoveries.
5. Apple
R&D Spending: $29.9 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
“You can do multi-finger gestures on it, and, boy, have we patented it!” This is what the late Steve Jobs said when he introduced the iPhone back in 2007.
Intellectual property is a big game in technology R&D, and Apple has every reason to file thousands of patents. Throughout the years, it has given us some amazing technologies that have changed the world.
The thing is, Apple relies on these technologies to keep its market dominance, so it makes sure no one is able to copy them.
Here is an amazing fact to get a better understanding of Apple’s R&D efforts:
The company now spends close to 13 times more on R&D than it did in 2009.
This is huge!
Apple may have hit the jackpot with the iPhone, as it delivers around $155 billion in annual revenue. But sales growth is slowing down, and the competition is eating Apple’s share of the phone market.
Apple is channeling R&D into AI-enabled custom silicon and on-device intelligence while implementing its Apple Intelligence suite across iOS and macOS.
6. Microsoft
R&D Spending: $29.0 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Speaking about patents, check out Microsoft’s list. The company has over 31,000 patents so far, and another 38,000 pending.
Microsoft is one of the top innovation companies. It founded its research subsidiary, Microsoft Research, back in 1991. Since then, it has grown to employ more than 1,000 people.
Apart from that, Microsoft owns research centers all over the world. They focus on activities like machine learning, data mining, linguistics, ad placement, social networking, and artificial intelligence.
Microsoft said it is on track to invest $80 billion in AI-enabled data centers in fiscal year 2025, which ends on June 30. The company continues to leverage its partnership with OpenAI to integrate AI across its enterprise software suite.
7. Volkswagen
R&D Spending: $23.6 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
German car manufacturer Volkswagen is one of the biggest companies in the world. In recent years, it has been focused on electric vehicle transition and digitalization.
So, the impressive Volkswagen R&D spending should come as no surprise. The company is all about making reliable convenient cars. To this end, it focuses on improvements on the cars’ connectivity, automation, construction, and use of light materials.
The company takes its innovations seriously. Volkswagen AG’s R&D spending in 2023 was $23.581 billion with a substantial portion of that supporting electrification and digitalization efforts. The company announced it would spend €180 billion ($193 billion) over five years with two-thirds dedicated to electrification and digitization.
8. Samsung
R&D Spending: $22.7 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
South Korean giant Samsung remains among the top R&D investors globally. Currently, it is the biggest memory chip manufacturer and one of the major producers of consumer electronics.
According to its website, Samsung has R&D centers in 12 countries around the world which help the company find new ways to enchant users. Samsung Electronics has intensified its focus on AI semiconductor development, optimizing memory solutions for large language models, and expanding on-device AI capabilities in its consumer ecosystem.
How’s that for smart investment in research and development?
9. Huawei
R&D Spending: $22.0 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Huawei rules the world of telecommunications equipment, and a substantial part of its R&D power goes towards wireless networks and artificial intelligence. The Chinese company invests in creating superfast networks. It has already introduced 5G commercial products and solutions.
What’s more, Huawei’s global R&D spending has continued to grow in recent years. Huawei is tapping AI to enhance telecommunications and automotive technologies.
Now, self-driving cars are another reason why the Chinese company spends so much on R&D. When autonomous automobiles start cruising the streets, they will need a powerful network.
The thing is, bandwidth alone is not enough. These next-generation networks will need artificial intelligence to manage all the processes and data in the network. So Huawei is focusing on wireless AI.
10. Roche
R&D Spending: $15.7 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Big pharma is no joke.
Pharmaceutical companies make billions selling drugs. But for each new product that comes to the market, billions of investment in research and development are needed.
Sometimes, it can take years and the work of thousands of researchers before a new product can hit the shelves.
But how much do pharmaceutical companies spend on research and development anyway? In Roche’s case, it’s $15.7 billion per year.
This is why the Swiss pharma company is as much an R&D company as it is a healthcare company. One of its primary goals is finding the mechanism of diseases, crafting a cure for them, and patenting its discoveries.
Roche owns a couple of biotechnology companies like Genentech, Ventana, and Chugai Pharmaceuticals. The company continues to invest heavily in oncology and personalized healthcare solutions.
11. Johnson & Johnson
R&D Spending: $15.1 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Looking at research and development statistics, you’ll usually find Johnson & Johnson somewhere close to the top spot. Johnson & Johnson spent $15.1 billion on R&D in 2023 across its pharma and medtech divisions. That sum translated to nearly 18% of 2023 sales, representing a record for the company.
Like other pharmaceutical companies, Johnson & Johnson has to deal with expiring patents. Whenever a patent expires, other companies can produce similar drugs and bite off large chunks of the market.
To combat that, Johnson & Johnson’s R&D tech expenditures are aimed at new and better technologies and products. Sometimes, this means buying stakes in companies.
Examples of projects receiving funding include a variety of drug candidates such as milvexian and TAR-200, precision medicine initiatives and medical device innovation.
12. Toyota Motor
R&D Spending: $12.8 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Toyota Motor Corporation is the biggest car manufacturer in the world. So, it should come as no surprise that Toyota R&D spending figures are quite impressive.
It doesn’t just rule the global car market – it is also a leader in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. While everyone keeps talking about Tesla and eco-friendly vehicles, Toyota has sold millions of Priuses so far. Take that, Elon Musk!
According to its website, Toyota has 15 R&D centers on four continents. They deal with everything from basic research to advanced engineering to vehicle evaluation.
13. Intel
R&D Spending: $12.0 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
The semiconductor manufacturer is no new kid on the block when it comes to innovation. Intel R&D budget numbers prove it. It has one of the biggest R&D expenses among IT companies.
A considerable portion of Intel’s R&D expenses go into data-centric innovation. And we all know how important data is, so you can view data as the new oil.
But data doesn’t just hit you in the face. First, you need to gather it or generate it. Then, you have to make sense of it. That’s why Intel is investing in new technologies that will help process this information.
However, in 2024, Intel had a broadly different trajectory, with the company reporting revenue declines and announcing a $10 billion cost-reduction plan, including a headcount reduction of over 15,000 employees.
14. NVIDIA
R&D Spending: $8.7 billion
(Source: 2024 Fiscal Year Report)
In its 2024 fiscal year, Nvidia spent 8.68 billion U.S. dollars on research and development (R&D), an increase from the 7.34 billion U.S. dollars that was spent on R&D in 2023. The figure for 2024 is also the highest for the company.
Nvidia led technology hardware companies when it came to R&D spending growth in 2023, increasing their budget 18% year-over-year. In the last decade, the company revolutionized the semiconductor industry, choosing to focus on graphics processing units that are now key to the AI boom.
NVIDIA’s recent surge illustrates how an integrated approach—fusing proprietary software frameworks, specialized chips, and robust partner ecosystems—can catapult a company into the upper echelons of R&D spending.
15. Pfizer
R&D Spending: $9.1 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Pfizer is a research-based biopharma company that discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes innovative therapeutic solutions. The company operates in two segments: Biopharma and Business Innovation. The pipeline candidates in R&D focus on anti-infectives, inflammation & immunology, internal medicine, oncology, and vaccines.
As one of the top R&D spenders, Pfizer has been focusing on consolidation. The company continues to invest heavily in vaccine development and therapeutic research.
16. Novartis
R&D Spending: $8.8 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Novartis takes R&D investment seriously: it gives a job to about 6000 people. Known as Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, this structure is responsible for developing new technologies, therapies, and products.
Here’s the deal:
It relies on a team of chemists, biologists, and computer scientists to find new molecules that can be used as weapons against diseases. When scientists discover promising molecules, they test them and provide proof-of-concept.
And that’s how new drugs enter the market.
17. BMW
R&D Spending: $8.2 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
For BMW, it’s pedal to the metal when it comes to research and development. While its R&D budget isn’t as big as some of its competitors’, the German car manufacturer invests the money in various activities.
Those include studying the habits of users and exploring new business models. As with other companies in the automotive business, this has to do with connectivity. The Internet of Things is changing human behavior. It also gives opportunity for new products, services, and market niches. And BMW R&D spending numbers will help the giant be there when those opportunities arrive.
18. General Motors
R&D Spending: $7.8 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
General Motors has a good record in terms of research and development. Throughout the years, it has developed or successfully launched products that were very innovative at the time.
In 1939, it created the world’s first car with automatic transmission.
In the 1960s, it developed a hydrogen-fueled vehicle. It was expensive and impractical to drive, but it showed the effort GM puts into crafting new technologies.
The company continues to invest heavily in electric vehicle development and autonomous driving technologies.
19. Robert Bosch
R&D Spending: $7.5 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Companies with high research and development costs tend to have a long history of inventing stuff. Such is the case with Robert Bosch.
The company obtained its first patent in 1897. It was for an oscillating sleeve for Bosch’s magneto ignition device.
Ever since then, Bosch has been expanding its R&D operations. Today, the company has research and development sites in 12 locations around the world.
20. Ford Motor
R&D Spending: $7.4 billion
(Source: 2023 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard)
Ford has increased its research and development expenses significantly in recent years. While that’s not nearly as impressive as the spending of some other companies on our list (like Amazon), it represents Ford’s efforts to step up innovation.
Ford has been a pioneer in American car manufacturing for more than a century, so innovation is nothing new for the company. The famous car brand focuses on connectivity and data analysis, as many experts see them as the future of the automobile industry.
Why is Amazon now on top of the list?
Amazon has dramatically increased its R&D investment, particularly in technology and infrastructure. The company’s $85.6 billion spending in 2023 reflects its massive investments in cloud computing (AWS), artificial intelligence, logistics automation, and emerging technologies. Amazon expects to invest $100 billion in capital expenditures in 2025, primarily for AI infrastructure and data centers.
Wrap Up
Research and development is no guarantee of profits. Companies spend years and sacks of money in R&D that sometimes turn nothing.
Nevertheless, R&D is vital for many companies. They use it to expand its market share and increase sales.
The top R&D spenders on this list have made a difference on the market, providing breakthrough technologies and products that have changed our lives.
With global R&D spending reaching $2.53 trillion in 2024 and Big Tech companies leading an AI revolution with over $320 billion in combined spending planned for 2025, we’re entering a new era of innovation that promises to reshape entire industries.
