Investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and model architectures is on track to surge more than fivefold to about $769 billion in 2026, underscoring the scale of capital flowing into AI even as leading developers and industry executives raise concerns over the pace and safety of the technology's development, according to McKinsey's Technology Trends Outlook 2026.
The estimate is based on nearly $384 billion invested in the first half of 2026 and assumes the current pace continues through the year. It compares with $145 billion invested in the technology in 2025, making AI infrastructure and model architectures the largest-funded technology trend covered by McKinsey.
