New Delhi — Global spending on artificial intelligence is expected to reach $2.7 trillion in 2026, up 49.5% from a year earlier, according to a new Gartner forecast.
Demand for AI infrastructure remains strong despite higher memory-related costs, as companies continue building capacity for future workloads.
“The buildout of AI data centre capacity is the largest infrastructure project humanity has even undertaken. The capacity growth from hyperscalers and service providers purchasing AI-optimized servers will continue to be the largest single area of spending,” said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.
Gartner also raised its 2026 growth forecast for AI application development platforms to 39%, from 28% previously, as companies, software providers and service firms build more customized AI applications.
The report said enterprises are increasingly looking to providers to help control costs and add usage tracking to workflows so they can measure results.
Pressure on model providers to offer cheaper, more specialized systems is also creating opportunities for domain-specific language models. Gartner raised its 2026 growth forecast for generative AI models to 117%, up from 110% in its previous projection.
Lovelock said enterprises are relying less on service providers for broad business transformation projects and more on smaller projects designed to take advantage of AI features already built into existing software.
Together, transformation projects and these smaller AI-related initiatives are expected to create a $1.2 trillion opportunity in AI services by 2030, according to Gartner. (Source: IANS)
