Gartner predicts AI platform and model spending to rise 63% by 2026

Gartner projects worldwide end‑user spending on AI models and platforms will reach about $64 billion in 2026, a 63% increase from 2025. Spending on generative‑AI models is expected to grow 117%, while domain‑specific language models could expand 210% by that year. Analyst Arunasree Cheparthi said enterprises are tightening AI budgets, focusing on cost‑effectiveness, usage tracking and measurable outcomes.

The same firm forecasts overall global IT spending to climb to $6.37 trillion in 2026, a 14.2% rise from 2025. Data‑center systems, infrastructure‑as‑a‑service (IaaS) and AI‑related cloud platforms are the top growth segments, reflecting the massive build‑out of compute capacity required for AI workloads. Gartner’s John‑David Lovelock highlighted that AI infrastructure represents the largest computing expansion ever attempted, driving the bulk of the spending surge.