Spending on AI is forecast to skyrocket to 2.5 trillion dollars in 2026, outstripping even the biggest science and infrastructure projects.
Over the past decade, AI has attracted one of the biggest waves of private investment in modern history, totaling trillions of dollars, Al Jazeera reports.
According to Gartner, a U.S.-based business and technology analyst firm, worldwide spending on AI is forecast to total $2.5 trillion in 2026, an increase of $44% from 2025.
Over the past decade, AI-related investments have increased nearly 13-fold. According to Stanford University's AI Index 2025 report, between 2013 and 2024, total global corporate investment in AI reached $1.6 trillion dollars. This substantial spending exceeds even the largest scientific and infrastructure projects of the 20th and 21st centuries. In just over a decade, investments in AI have surpassed the cost of developing the first atomic bomb, sending humans to the moon, and the decades-long effort to build the 75,440 km (46,876 mile) US interstate highway network.
Unlike these flagship projects, AI funding was not driven by a single government or wartime emergency. It has flowed through private markets, venture capital, corporate R&D and global investors, making it one of the largest privately funded technology waves in history.
Global corporate investments in AI cover a wide range of operations, including mergers and acquisitions, minority stakes, private equity and public offerings. These monumental expenditures highlight the extensive financial commitment to the development of AI.
Which countries spend the most on AI?
The value of AI investment is concentrated in just a few countries, where private capital has fueled thousands of startups and shaped global innovation hubs.
The US dominated AI spending, accounting for about 62% of all private AI funding in 2013. Between 2013 and 2024, US companies spent $471bn on AI. Chinese companies are the second biggest spender with $119bn, followed by the UK with $28bn.
These figures exclude government spending, such as the CHIPS Act in the US or European national subsidies for artificial intelligence. Global private investment in AI by country, 2013-2024:
- US: $471 billion supporting 6,956 newly funded AI companies
- China: $119 billion, 1,605 startups
- UK: $28 billion, 885 startups
- Canada: $15 billion, 481 startups
- Israel: $15 billion, 492 startups
- Germany: $13 billion, 394 startups
- India: $11 billion, 434 startups
- France: $11 billion, 468 startups
- South Korea: $9 billion, 270 startups
- Singapore: $7 billion, 239 startups
- Other: 58 billion USD
AI spending to total $2.5 trillion by 2026
Spending on AI is forecast to skyrocket to $2.5 trillion in 2026, driven by a massive global expansion of data centers and services, according to Gartner. The bulk of spending is expected to go toward:
- AI infrastructure: 1.37 trillion dollars
- AI services: 589 billion dollars
- Software AI: 452 billion dollars
- AI cybersecurity: 51 billion dollars
- AI platforms for data science and machine learning: $31 billion
- AI models: 26 billion dollars
- AI application development platforms: $8.4 billion
- AI data: 3 billion dollars
By 2027, Gartner predicts that spending on AI will exceed 3.3 trillion dollars.