AI spend will jump 49.5% in 2026, says Gartner
Worldwide AI spending will increase 49.5% in 2026, to $2.7 trillion, and grow another 36.2% in 2027 as AI usage continues to expand, Gartner predicts in the latest quarterly update to its IT spending forecast. But there’s been no diversion of money from other areas of IT to feed AI, said Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst John-David Lovelock . CIOs got some net new money for AI back in 2024, and a…
Gartner forecasts worldwide AI spending to surge 49.5% by 2026, reaching $2.7 trillion, with another 36.2% increase in 2027 as AI adoption accelerates. CIOs have received net new funding for AI since 2024, rather than reallocating funds from other IT areas, claims Gartner's Distinguished VP Analyst John-David Lovelock. By 2030, every dollar will likely be allocated towards AI in some capacity.
Companies are increasingly purchasing AI-enabled laptops and embedded AI software, while hypere-scalers continue expanding their cloud infrastructure without diverting cloud spending. AI-related expenditures are expected to grow at unprecedented rates, with AI infrastructure, software, agents, security, and platforms seeing substantial growth.
Semiconductors, driven by memory demands, are projected to surge to $2 trillion by 2030, a significant shift from previous incremental growth patterns. Lovelock emphasizes that the next few years will witness major transformations in AI, where risk and reward balance must be the top priority for decision-makers.
Written by urgent.news from Computerworld's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
