Global AI Spending Forecast to Reach $2.7 Trillion in 2026
New Delhi — Global spending on artificial intelligence is projected to reach $2.7 trillion in 2026, up 49.5 percent from a year earlier, according to a Gartner report released Wednesday.
Demand for AI infrastructure needed to support future workloads remains strong despite pressure from higher memory-related costs.
“The buildout of AI data centre capacity is the largest infrastructure project humanity has even undertaken. The capacity growth from hyperscalers and service providers purchasing AI-optimized servers will continue to be the largest single area of spending,” said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.
The short-term outlook for AI application development platforms has also strengthened. Gartner now expects the segment to grow 39 percent in 2026, compared with a previous forecast of 28 percent.
The increase comes as enterprises, software providers and services companies seek to develop customized AI applications tailored to their specific needs.
Enterprises are also looking to technology providers to help manage costs and incorporate usage tracking into their workflows to measure the effectiveness of AI deployments.
For model providers, pressure to offer more cost-efficient products aligned with enterprise use cases is creating a small but growing opportunity for domain-specific language models.
Gartner raised its 2026 growth forecast for generative AI models to 117 percent from 110 percent previously.
Lovelock said enterprises are relying less on service providers for broad business transformation projects and more for smaller projects that make use of AI features already embedded in existing software systems.
The combination of transformation projects and smaller indirect projects is expected to create a $1.2 trillion opportunity in AI services by 2030, according to the report. (Source: IANS)
