Global AI spending poised to total $1.5 trillion in 2025

Global artificial intelligence (AI) spending is set to total US$1.5 trillion in 2025, according to new figures from Gartner.

The analyst firm revealed that continuous demand for AI is expected to fuel major investments in IT infrastructure. Looking towards 2026, overall global AI spending is forecast to top $2 trillion, led in large part by AI being integrated into products such as smartphones and PCs, as well as infrastructure, Gartner said.

The PEX Report 2025/26 indicates that AI is playing a significant role in modern business transformation, with organizations planning to invest heavily in various types of AI technology in the coming year.

The AI investment landscape is expanding

Gartner’s forecast assumes continued investment in AI infrastructure expansion as major hyperscalers continue to increase investments in data centers with AI-optimized hardware and GPUs to scale their services, said John-David Lovelock, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner.

“The AI investment landscape is also expanding beyond traditional US tech giants, including Chinese companies and new AI cloud providers. Furthermore, venture capital investment in AI providers is providing additional tailwinds for AI spending.”

Gartner predicts global spending on AI services to reach $282 million in 2025, followed by AI application software ($172 million), AI infrastructure software ($126 million) and generative AI (14 million).

Register for All Access: AI in Business Transformation 2025!

The rise of AI-driven business transformation

Almost half (48 percent) of surveyed organizations currently use AI tools to support business transformation with many prioritizing AI adoption over the next 12 months. More than half (59 percent) of businesses are planning to invest in agentic AI/AI agents, followed by generative AI (58 percent) and standard/traditional AI (43 percent)

A fifth (20 percent) of businesses have piloted at least one AI project to drive business transformation. Slightly less (19 percent) have operationalized multiple successful AI projects, while 15 percent have discussed potential AI projects but have not trialed them yet. The same number (15 percent) are in the process of developing their first AI pilot project, with 11 percent systematically using AI to deliver transformational results and 7 percent having operationalized one AI project.

Almost three-quarters (70 percent) of businesses state that AI is either “critical” or “very important” to their organization’s strategic goals. However, less than half of businesses currently have an AI governance policy.

Download How enterprise architecture (EA) optimizes AI governance: Industry report

Driving value from AI adoption

Driving business value from AI is a critical but complex component of success. Almost half of respondents rate their organization’s ability to drive tangible value from AI adoption as either “very high” or “high” (20 percent and 26 percent, respectively). Just under a third (32 percent) rate it as “moderate,” while 12 percent and 9 percent rate it as “very low” or “low,” respectively.

Efficiency is the most common, measurable benefit of AI adoption, cited by 55 percent of respondents. This is followed by process optimization/automation (43 percent), cost savings (36 percent) and customer experience (30 percent).

Task mining – unlocking new possibilities in process optimization: Industry report 2025

Task mining is experiencing robust growth, driven by the increasing need for process optimization and automation across diverse sectors. The market, estimated at US$2 billion in 2025, is projected to exhibit a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent over the next eight years, reaching an impressive $10 billion by 2033, according to Market Report Analytics.

Download this report to explore the task mining landscape and learn how it unlocks new opportunities in process optimization!

Download Now