Global IT spending to reach US$6.31 trillion in 2026 as AI infrastructure drives growth

Worldwide IT spending is projected to reach US$6.31 trillion in 2026, a 13.5% increase from 2025, according to Gartner. The revised forecast reflects sustained demand across AI infrastructure, software, and cloud services, with growth concentrated in segments directly tied to AI deployment and scaling.

The distribution of spending remains uneven. While overall investment continues to expand, the strongest gains are concentrated in infrastructure and software, where AI workloads are placing new demands on compute capacity and system performance.

Data centre investment accelerates on AI demand

Data centre systems are expected to record the fastest growth, rising 55.8% in 2026 to nearly US$788 billion. This increase is tied closely to the expansion of AI workloads, which require higher levels of processing power, memory bandwidth, and system throughput.

As organisations scale these workloads, investment is shifting towards infrastructure capable of supporting both training and inference at larger volumes. Hyperscale cloud providers are a key driver of this demand, increasing server and data centre capacity to meet rising usage.

John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, said, “This latest forecast underscores the accelerating momentum in AI infrastructure and advanced memory. As AI workloads scale, data centre investment is ramping rapidly, which in turn is driving increased demand for high-performance compute. This dynamic is creating meaningful growth opportunities for companies delivering AI-optimised processors, accelerators, and enabling technologies.”

This concentration of spending places data centre infrastructure at the centre of overall IT growth, with adjacent components such as processors and accelerators benefiting from the same demand cycle.

Software and services expand alongside infrastructure

Software spending is projected to grow 15.1% to US$1.44 trillion, with much of the increase coming from generative AI-related development. In particular, spending on model development is expected to more than double year-on-year, reflecting continued investment in building and refining AI capabilities.

Alongside this, IT services remain the largest segment by total value, reaching approximately US$1.87 trillion. This includes application implementation, managed services, and infrastructure-related support, as organisations continue to rely on external providers to deploy and operate increasingly complex systems.

Together, software and services form the operational layer that sits on top of expanding infrastructure, translating hardware investment into deployable and maintainable systems.

Memory pricing and supply constraints shape hardware trends

The rapid growth in AI infrastructure is also affecting component pricing, particularly in memory. High-bandwidth memory has seen significant price increases due to sustained demand and limited supply, pushing up the cost of AI systems.

Lovelock added, “Robust demand combined with supply constraints has resulted in record price increases for high-bandwidth memory. This surge positions the memory segment as a lucrative area for semiconductor manufacturers. These trends collectively make AI infrastructure the most attractive segment for capitalising on the robust expansion in IT spending.”

These pricing pressures extend into the broader hardware market. Device spending is still expected to reach US$856 billion in 2026, but growth is moderated to 8.2% as higher component costs increase average selling prices and slow replacement cycles, particularly in lower-margin segments.

Multi-speed market reflects uneven demand patterns

Compared to earlier projections, Gartner has revised its outlook upward, citing stronger-than-expected demand in AI-related segments. The result is a more uneven market, where infrastructure and AI-driven software continue to expand faster than other categories.

Communications services are forecast to grow at a more moderate 4.8%, while traditional hardware segments face cost and pricing constraints that limit their pace of growth.

“Together, these dynamics highlight a widening divergence across IT markets, as AI infrastructure and GenAI software see substantial upward revisions while device growth reflects ongoing cost and pricing pressures,” Lovelock said.

Gartner’s forecast is based on analysis of vendor sales data across hardware, software, IT services, and telecommunications, supported by both primary and secondary research.