Visualising AI spending: How does it compare with history's mega projects? World leaders and tech executives are convening in New Delhi for the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, focusing on the role of artificial intelligence in governance, job disruption and global collaboration. However, behind these discussions lies the financial reality. Over the past decade, AI has drawn one of the largest waves of private investment in modern history, totalling trillions of dollars. According to Gartner, a United States-based business and technology insights company, worldwide spending on AI is forecast to total $2.5 trillion in 2026, a 44 percent increase over 2025.

Three of the biggest US tech companies reported record profits and record infrastructure spending on Wednesday, fueling speculation about a possible AI market bubble. Three of the biggest US tech giants--Microsoft, Meta, and Google--sent investors a blunt message when they reported quarterly earnings on Wednesday: Their lavish spending on AI infrastructure is only just getting started. Meta said that its capital expenditure would total between $70 billion and $72 billion this year, up from its previous lower forecast of $66 billion to $72 billion. Next year, Meta's chief financial officer Susan Li said that she expected the company's spending would be "notably larger." The social media giant's soaring investment matches its soaring revenue: Meta reported raking in $51.24 billion last quarter, up 26 percent year-over-year.

If AI's hype has been punctured, I couldn't find a company willing to talk about it. A few weeks ago, I set out on what I thought would be a straightforward reporting journey. After years of momentum for AI--even if you didn't think it would be good for the world, you probably thought it was powerful enough to take seriously--hype for the technology had been slightly punctured. First there was the underwhelming release of GPT-5 in August. Then a report released two weeks later found that 95% of generative AI pilots were failing, which caused a brief stock market panic. I wanted to know: Which companies are spooked enough to scale back their AI spending?

While these prognostications may prove true, today's businesses are finding major hurdles when they seek to graduate from pilots and experiments to enterprise-wide AI deployment. Just 5.4% of US businesses, for example, were using AI to produce a product or service in 2024. Moving from initial forays into AI use, such as code generation and customer service, to firm-wide integration depends on strategic and organizational transitions in infrastructure, data governance, and supplier ecosystems. As well, organizations must weigh uncertainties about developments in AI performance and how to measure return on investment. If organizations seek to scale AI across the business in coming years, however, now is the time to act.

We know, as you do, that artificial intelligence is driving a lot of spending at IT organizations and is probably the fundamental driver of spending by the hyperscalers and cloud builders that have, thus far, benefitted most from the machine learning revolution. But just how much money are companies sinking into AI, and how will that grow over time? We have not seen a lot of good data on this, and the market researchers at IDC, as usual, have been the most vocal about how they dice and slice the AI market in their public statements, which dribble out some insight here and there to keep their name out there and to drive deeper engagements with AI startups, their investors, IT suppliers who are chasing this market, and large enterprises that are on the forefront of commercializing AI in their application stacks. What sent us down this AI spending rathole was some numbers that IDC released on March 7, which talks about worldwide spending on AI-Centric systems, including hardware, software, and services. AI-centric means that without the AI component, an application will not function.

NEEDHAM, Mass., March 7, 2023 – A new forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide shows that global spending on artificial intelligence (AI), including software, hardware, and services for AI-centric systems*, will reach $154 billion in 2023, an increase of 26.9% over the amount spent in 2022. The ongoing incorporation of AI into a wide range of products will result in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.0% over the 2022-2026 forecast with spending on AI-centric systems expected to surpass $300 billion in 2026. "Companies that are slow to adopt AI will be left behind – large and small. AI is best used in these companies to augment human abilities, automate repetitive tasks, provide personalized recommendations, and make data-driven decisions with speed and accuracy," said Mike Glennon, senior market research analyst with IDC's Customer Insights & Analysis team. "Suppliers of AI technologies need to know which are the largest and fastest growing opportunities, but without data they become just another opinion. IDC's AI Spending Guide provides the foundation for marketing strategy through its comprehensive coverage of AI opportunities and gives a robust basis for a market focus that ties with companies' capabilities."

SINGAPORE, September 27, 2022 – Asia/Pacific* spending on AI systems (including hardware, software, and services) will rise from $20.6 billion in 2022 to around $46.6 billion in 2026, according to IDC's latest Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions have become an essential part of process improvement and business decision-making, assisting organizations in keeping up with market viability. IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.7 percent for 2021-2026. "Pre-trained natural language and computer vision models have contributed largely to the 1st wave of adoptions. It's time for more organizations to tap into their own data asset and start managing the "data to intelligence" lifecycle. This will become one of the differentiating capabilities for companies to compete in the digital-first era," says Jessie Danqing Cai, Associate Research Director, Artificial Intelligence, IDC Asia/Pacific.

The strategic value of artificial intelligence (AI) is widely recognised by customer experience (CX) leaders worldwide. However, AI implementation in the contact centre appears to have slowed over the last year. Recent Talkdesk research explores why CX leaders find it challenging to realise the full potential of AI technology in the contact centre. CX leaders understand the value of AI and automation, viewing this technology as critical to accelerate success. The core benefits of AI technology deployment in the contact centre are not contested.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a hot topic for countries worldwide, and both public- and private-sector organizations have already started leveraging it as a response to continuous digital disruption. According to IDC's 2022 Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide, global AI spending reached $88.6 billion in 2021, and it is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.6% over the 2021–2025 period. Canada, China, and the United States are among the countries in which many organizations began their AI journeys early, supported by government initiatives. Saudi Arabia is no different in terms of its commitment to becoming an AI powerhouse. As an extension of the country's Vision 2030, the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) was established in 2019, followed by the release of the National Strategy for Data and AI in 2020.

Asia Pacific spending on artificial intelligence (AI) systems will rise from $17.6 billion in 2022 to around $32 billion in 2025, said a study. According to IDC's latest Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide, businesses invest in AI to gain a competitive advantage through improved customer insight, increased employee efficiency, and accelerated decision making. IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.2% for the period 2020-2025, the study noted. Over the next five years, the banking industry will continue to invest the most in AI solutions. Risk mitigation would be vital for the banking industry's AI investment through augmented threat intelligence and fraud analysis applications.