Worldwide spending on artificial intelligence is forecast to reach $2.52 trillion in 2026, a 44% increase year-over-year, with AI infrastructure emerging as the dominant investment theme across global markets, according to Gartner.
AI infrastructure alone will account for $1.366 trillion of that total spending—54% of all AI expenditure—as technology providers and hyperscalers race to build the physical foundations required to power the next generation of AI systems. According to Gartner’s January 2026 analysis, infrastructure will add $401 billion in new spending compared to 2025, driven by the capital-intensive expansion of data centers, compute power, and supporting systems.
This shift reflects a fundamental change in how investors and corporations view artificial intelligence. Rather than betting on individual AI applications or software, capital is now flowing toward the physical layer—the servers, cooling systems, power infrastructure, and networking equipment that enable AI to function at scale. BlackRock’s 2026 investment outlook identifies AI as the “dominant theme” for the investment community, with the focus increasingly concentrated on the infrastructure required to sustain AI’s growth.
Goldman Sachs projects even steeper infrastructure investment, estimating $765 billion in annual AI capital expenditure in 2026 alone, growing to $1.6 trillion annually by 2031. The investment bank notes that this capital is used to purchase new chips, build new data centers, and construct new power systems—efforts aimed at assembling sufficient computing infrastructure to meet current AI demand. The economic useful life of AI chips, the cost and complexity of next-generation data centers, and chip architectural choices represent the most critical variables determining how much total capital must be deployed.
Morgan Stanley Research estimates that nearly $3 trillion of AI-related infrastructure investment will flow through the global economy by 2028, underscoring the scale of the build-out. Meanwhile, Boston Consulting Group reports that corporations expect to double their spending on AI in 2026, increasing from 0.8% to approximately 1.7% of revenues—a shift that will accelerate infrastructure demands across industries seeking to deploy AI at enterprise scale.
The infrastructure-first focus marks a departure from 2025’s emphasis on AI software and applications. Where previous years saw investors chase the latest language models or generative AI startups, 2026 is defined by capital allocation toward the foundational systems that make AI possible. Energy providers, data center operators, semiconductor manufacturers, and power companies are positioned to benefit from this reallocation of investment capital toward the physical infrastructure layer of the AI economy.
Sources
- Gartner — Worldwide AI spending forecast of $2.52 trillion in 2026, with AI infrastructure accounting for $1.366 trillion (54% of total); AI infrastructure adding $401 billion in new 2026 spending
- Goldman Sachs Global Institute — $765 billion annual AI CapEx in 2026, growing to $1.6 trillion by 2031; analysis of critical assumptions shaping AI infrastructure investment scale
- BlackRock Investment Institute — AI identified as the “dominant theme” for the investment community in 2026; focus on physical infrastructure as key to sustaining AI growth
- Morgan Stanley Research — Nearly $3 trillion in AI-related infrastructure investment forecast through 2028
- Boston Consulting Group — Corporations expected to double AI spending in 2026, from 0.8% to 1.7% of revenues
