Global spending on artificial intelligence is set to reach nearly $1.5 trillion in 2025, according to research firm Gartner, with growing demand for AI-driven services and infrastructure fueling the boom.
The latest forecast marks a sharp rise from $987.9 billion in 2024 and is expected to surpass $2 trillion by 2026, as AI becomes embedded in a wider range of consumer and enterprise technologies.
“The forecast assumes continued investment in AI infrastructure expansion, as major hyperscalers increase spending on data centers with AI-optimized hardware and GPUs,” said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “The AI investment landscape is also expanding beyond traditional U.S. tech giants, with Chinese players and new cloud providers driving additional growth.”
Key segments of AI investment include:
- AI services growing to $282.6 billion in 2025,
- AI application software surging from $83.7 billion in 2024 to $172.0 billion in 2025,
- AI-optimized servers nearly doubling to $267.5 billion,
- GenAI smartphones climbing to $298.2 billion.
According to the firm, by 2026, AI infrastructure software is forecast to quadruple from 2024 levels to $229.8 billion, while spending on AI processing semiconductors is projected to reach $267.9 billion.
Gartner said the rapid integration of AI into smartphones and PCs will play a significant role in pushing spending past $2 trillion.
