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The global spending on AI is forecast to total $2.52 trillion in 2026, a 44 per cent increase year-over-year, according to a report released on Thursday. 

AI adoption is fundamentally shaped by the readiness of both human capital and organisational processes, not merely by financial investment, said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.

Organisations with greater experiential maturity and self-awareness are increasingly prioritising proven outcomes over speculative potential, he added.

Building AI foundations alone will drive a 49 per cent increase in spending on AI-optimised servers, representing 17 per cent of total AI spending.

AI infrastructure will also add $401 billion in spending as result of technology providers building out AI foundations, said the report.

“Because AI is in the Trough of Disillusionment throughout 2026, it will most often be sold to enterprises by their incumbent software provider rather than bought as part of a new moonshot project,” said Lovelock.

“The improved predictability of ROI must occur before AI can truly be scaled up by the enterprise,” he added.

A recent report said that at least $2 trillion in annual revenue is needed to fund computing power needed to meet anticipated AI demand globally by 2030. However, even with AI-related savings, the world is still $800 billion short to keep pace with demand, according to new research by Bain & Company.

By 2030, global incremental AI compute requirements could reach 200 gigawatts, with the US accounting for half of the power.

While computational demand increases, leading companies have moved from piloting AI capabilities to profiting from AI as organisations scale the technology across core workflows delivering 10 per cent to 25 per cent earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) gains over the last two years, said the report.