Expert Take:
“The forecast assumes continued investment in AI infrastructure expansion, as major hyperscalers continue to increase investments in data centers with AI-optimized hardware and GPUs to scale their services,” said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “The AI investment landscape is also expanding beyond traditional U.S. tech giants, including Chinese companies and new AI cloud providers. Furthermore, venture capital investment in AI providers is providing additional tailwinds for AI spending.”
Looking towards 2026, overall global AI spending is forecast to top $2 trillion, led in large part by AI being integrated into products such as smartphones and PCs, as well as infrastructure (see Table 1).
Table 1: AI Spending in IT Markets, Worldwide, 2024-2026 (Millions of U.S. Dollars)
| Market | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| AI Services | 259,477 | 282,556 | 324,669 |
| AI Application Software | 83,679 | 172,029 | 269,703 |
| AI Infrastructure Software | 56,904 | 126,177 | 229,825 |
| GenAI Models | 5,719 | 14,200 | 25,766 |
| AI-optimized Servers (GPU and Non-GPU AI Accelerators) | 140,107 | 267,534 | 329,528 |
| AI-optimized IaaS | 7,447 | 18,325 | 37,507 |
| AI Processing Semiconductors | 138,813 | 209,192 | 267,934 |
| AI PCs by ARM and x86 | 51,023 | 90,432 | 144,413 |
| GenAI Smartphones | 244,735 | 298,189 | 393,297 |
| Total AI Spending | 987,904 | 1,478,634 | 2,022,642 |
Source: Gartner (September 2025)
Gartner clients can read more in Forecast Alert: AI in IT Spending, 2Q25.
Gartner CIO & IT Executive Conference
Gartner analysts will provide additional insights on the trends shaping the future of IT and business, including accelerating business transformation, application modernization, infrastructure and operations at the Gartner CIO & IT Executive Conference, taking place September 22-24 in São Paulo and October 6-8 in Dubai. Follow news and updates from the conference on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerCIO.
