Umsatzrekord: Deutscher KI-Markt wächst 2026 um fast die Hälfte

German artificial intelligence (AI) market sees a record surge in 2026, growing nearly by half, according to calculations by the Digital Association Bitkom. Total spending on AI software, services, and hardware in the current year is projected to rise by 48 percent to 28.7 billion euros. In 2025, the market volume stood at 19.4 billion euros.

The main catalyst for this boom is the so-called generative AI, which includes applications like ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, or Google Gemini. Spending on this sub-sector is expected to double in 2026 from 5.7 billion euros to 11.5 billion euros, making up around 40 percent of the entire market.

The IDC, a market research firm, bases its data on IT market research. Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst noted that the shift from mere experimentation to broad productive use of AI is evident. Applications are now being used across industries and companies of all sizes to speed up processes and improve products. Software drives the majority of the growth, with AI software set to receive 16.0 billion euros this year, a 65 percent increase.

Associated services are estimated at 6.8 billion euros (plus 30 percent), while hardware investments account for 5.8 billion euros (plus 32 percent). Analysts do not foresee an end to the upturn: IDC predicts a further 40 percent market growth for Germany in 2027, reaching 40.3 billion euros.