AI Spending Forecast Reaches $2.67 Trillion as Estimates Track Different Measures

Gartner forecasts worldwide artificial intelligence spending of $2.670460 trillion in 2026, while Goldman Sachs Research estimates about $1 trillion in global AI-related investment that year. The figures measure different activity and should not be added together or treated as a direct comparison.

Gartner’s Sept. 16 forecast puts 2026 spending 49.5% above its revised 2025 estimate of $1.786671 trillion. It projects $1.484397 trillion for AI infrastructure in 2026. The forecast covers spending across AI infrastructure, software and services; it is not a record of money already spent.

Goldman Sachs Research’s Aug. 7 estimate puts U.S. AI-related investment at $581 billion of the roughly $1 trillion global total.

Global corporate AI investment totaled $581.69 billion in 2025. Of the $581.69 billion total, $344.66 billion was private investment and $214.44 billion came through mergers and acquisitions. It measures financing and transactions, rather than projected 2026 purchases.

All three figures therefore describe different periods or categories: projected annual spending, projected investment and past corporate investment activity. The 2026 totals remain forecasts.