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AI Boom to Drive Global IT Spending to $6.31 Trillion by 2026: Report

Global IT spending is projected to reach $6.31 trillion in 2026, a 13.5% increase from 2025, driven by rapid AI adoption. Data center systems are expected to see the fastest growth, rising 56% to approximately $788 billion, fueled by hyperscale cloud providers and enterprise AI workloads. Software spending is set to grow to $1.44 trillion, boosted by generative AI model development and AI-enabled applications. The report highlights a widening divergence in the IT market, with AI infrastructure and GenAI software outpacing traditional IT categories.

Key Points: AI Boom to Push Global IT Spending to $6.31 Trillion by 2026

  • Global IT spending to reach $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5% from 2025
  • Data center systems to grow fastest, rising 56% to $788 billion
  • Software spending to hit $1.44 trillion, fueled by generative AI
  • Hyperscale cloud demand accelerating investments in servers and data centers
2 min read

AI boom to push global IT spending to $6.31 trillion in 2026: Report

Global IT spending set to hit $6.31 trillion in 2026, driven by AI infrastructure and data center investments, says Gartner report.

"This latest forecast underscores the accelerating momentum in AI infrastructure and advanced memory - John-David Lovelock"

New Delhi, April 22

Global IT spending is pegged to reach $6.31 trillion in 2026, an increase of 13.5 per cent from 2025, because of the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence, a report said on Wednesday.

The surge is fuelled by rapid investments in AI infrastructure, advanced memory, and high-performance computing systems as enterprises scale AI workloads, according to a Gartner analysis.

Segment-wise, data centre systems are expected to record the fastest growth, rising nearly 56 per cent in 2026 to approximately $788 billion, indicating strong demand from hyperscale cloud providers and enterprises investing heavily in AI-driven capabilities.

Other segments such as devices, software, IT services, and communications services are also expected to grow by up to 15 per cent in 2026.

According to the Gartner forecast, data centre systems spending is expected to reach $787.9 billion in 2026.

Meanwhile, software spending is projected to increase to $1.44 trillion, while IT services -- the largest segment -- is set to grow to $1.87 trillion. Device spending is estimated to reach $856.1 billion, while communications services are likely to expand to $1.35 trillion.

The report highlighted that spending on software sees robust growth due to increased investments in generative AI (GenAI) model development and AI-enabled applications.

Meanwhile, device spending growth may be moderated by rising memory costs and extended replacement cycles, the report added.

"This latest forecast underscores the accelerating momentum in AI infrastructure and advanced memory," said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.

"As AI workloads scale, data centre investment is ramping rapidly, which in turn is driving increased demand for high-performance compute," he added.

Gartner noted that strong demand, coupled with supply constraints, has led to record price increases in high-bandwidth memory, making it a key opportunity area for semiconductor companies.

The report highlighted a widening divergence in the IT market, with AI infrastructure and GenAI software segments witnessing significantly stronger growth compared to traditional IT categories.

However, hyperscale cloud demand is expected to further accelerate investments in servers and data centres, reinforcing AI infrastructure as the most attractive segment for capital deployment.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sneha F
While the growth is impressive, I hope this doesn't lead to massive job losses in traditional IT roles. We need to focus on upskilling our workforce for the AI era. The government and companies should invest in training programs.
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Arun Y
Data center spending going up 56% is no joke! This means more jobs for our hardware engineers and cloud specialists. But we need to ensure these data centers are powered by renewable energy. Green AI should be the priority. 🌱
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Michael C
This is a global trend, but India must not get left behind. Our IT services companies need to pivot from just providing cheap labor to building AI products. The next Wipro or Infosys should be an AI-native company.
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Priyanka N
Interesting that device spending growth is being moderated by rising memory costs. So much for cheap gadgets! But I guess the AI boom is driving up demand for high-bandwidth memory. Every cloud has a silver lining for some. 😅
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Nikhil C
The article mentions 'widening divergence' - AI vs traditional IT. This is a wake-up call for our IT colleges and universities. They need to update their curriculum to include AI/ML, cloud computing, and data science. Otherwise our students will be unemployable in a few years.
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Jessica F

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