#Factoftheweek
Get ready. We are going to have another explosive year for AI—at least according to the numbers forecasted.
It is anticipated worldwide spending on AI will reach $2.52 trillion in 2026, which is a growth rate of 44% year-over-year, according to Gartner.
Much of this will come from AI foundations, with increasing spending on AI-optimized servers and AI infrastructure.
Table 1: Worldwide AI Spending by Market, 2025-2027 (Millions of U.S. Dollars)
| Market | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
| AI Services | 439,438 | 588,645 | 761,042 |
| AI Cybersecurity | 25,920 | 51,347 | 85,997 |
| AI Software | 283,136 | 452,458 | 636,146 |
| AI Models | 14,416 | 26,380 | 43,449 |
| AI Platforms for Data Science and Machine Learning | 21,868 | 31,120 | 44,482 |
| AI Application Development Platforms | 6,587 | 8,416 | 10,922 |
| AI Data | 827 | 3,119 | 6,440 |
| AI Infrastructure | 964,960 | 1,366,360 | 1,748,212 |
| Total AI Spending | 1,757,152 | 2,527,845 | 3,336,690 |
What are you seeing? Do you anticipate growth in the year ahead? How can we prepare for this growth? What should companies keep in mind?