China · Nation Thailand
AI boom to drive US$31.6tn data centre spend by 2050
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Global investment in data centres is forecast to reach US$31.6 trillion through 2050 as the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence drives a capital-spending cycle that PwC says will surpass the railway, electricity-grid and internet build-outs of earlier eras.
Key facts
- PwC’s inaugural Global Data Center Outlook, released on Wednesday (September 2, 2026), projects that annual investment will rise from about US$800 billion in 2026 to US$1.1 trillion in 2030 and US$1.8 trillion by 2050.
- Data Center Watch found that at least 75 US data-centre projects valued at approximately US$130 billion were blocked or delayed during the first quarter of 2026 because of local opposition.
- The United States is expected to receive about US$15.1 trillion of the projected investment through 2050, equivalent to almost half the global baseline total.
- Under a scenario in which AI is adopted more quickly than PwC’s baseline assumption, cumulative spending could exceed US$50 trillion over the next 25 years
- The report compared that figure with the approximately US$30 trillion size of the US economy.
- A major interruption to the semiconductor supply chain could reduce projected worldwide data-centre investment by almost 20%, the report estimated.
Summary
PwC’s inaugural Global Data Center Outlook, released on Wednesday (September 2, 2026), projects that annual investment will rise from about US$800 billion in 2026 to US$1.1 trillion in 2030 and US$1.8 trillion by 2050.
Under a scenario in which AI is adopted more quickly than PwC’s baseline assumption, cumulative spending could exceed US$50 trillion over the next 25 years. The report compared that figure with the approximately US$30 trillion size of the US economy.