What the research shows
Gartner forecasts worldwide AI spending of $2.7 trillion in 2026, up 49.5% from 2025, and $3.6 trillion in 2027. More than half of the 2026 total, about $1.5 trillion, goes to AI infrastructure: AI-optimised servers and cloud capacity, networking, semiconductors and devices. Gartner calls the build-out of AI data-centre capacity the largest infrastructure project humanity has undertaken.
The fastest growth is in software that acts. Spending on AI agents and assistants is forecast to rise from $16 billion in 2025 to $65 billion in 2027, and AI cybersecurity from $26 billion to $86 billion. Vendors are embedding agentic features in existing products, and with generative AI in the Trough of Disillusionment, Gartner notes that many enterprises are using these embedded features from their incumbent providers.
AI is lifting the whole technology budget. Gartner expects worldwide IT spending to reach $7.35 trillion in 2027, up 15% and above $7 trillion for the first time. Spending on data-centre systems is forecast to grow 73.8% in 2026 and 55.5% in 2027. Demand from data centres has more than doubled memory prices over the past year, an effect Gartner expects to persist through 2027.
Capital is concentrated. Stanford's 2026 AI Index reports US private AI investment of $285.9 billion in 2025, more than 23 times China's $12.4 billion.
For technology buyers, this means higher hardware prices while memory costs stay elevated, and more AI capability arriving through existing software contracts rather than new platforms.
What comes next
- AI infrastructure remains the largest single area of AI spending through 2027.
- Memory-driven price increases are expected to last through 2027 before hardware prices stabilise.
- Gartner expects AI services to be a $1.2 trillion opportunity by 2030.
What it means for leaders
- Plan hardware refreshes and capacity with higher memory prices in mind.
- Review the AI features in your existing software before funding new builds.
- Track AI spending across infrastructure, software and services in one view.
