Global Data Centre Investment Will Reach $1.1 Trillion by 2030
Rising demand for AI infrastructure is driving trillions in global capital expenditure for high-capacity facilities.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Data Centers
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Global annual investment in data centres will grow to $1.1 trillion by 2030, driven by the massive infrastructure requirements of artificial intelligence systems. This forecast follows a 2025 baseline investment of $560 billion, with total global development costs projected to hit $31.6 trillion between 2026 and 2050.
Why it matters
The rapid scaling of artificial intelligence requires an unprecedented expansion of physical data infrastructure, where access to stable, low-carbon power has become the primary constraint on project location and construction speed. This investment cycle is shifting the global industrial landscape, with equipment spending outpacing physical construction.
Data centre development costs currently split between 30% for construction and 70% for hardware, though equipment spending is projected to rise to 93% of the total budget by the end of the investment cycle. The U.S. leads the global market with $15.1 trillion in projected investment over the next 25 years.
The players
European Commission
The executive branch of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, and managing institutional funding programs for cross-border infrastructure.
The details
Capital allocation is heavily weighted toward high-density equipment, including specialized AI servers, data storage systems, and advanced networking hardware. To accelerate this build-out, the European Commission has launched a competitive funding program targeting seven AI Gigafactory data centres, providing EUR 30 billion in support to manage the capital-intensive nature of these facilities. For instance, the proposed Black Sea AI Gigafactory in Romania carries an estimated cost of EUR 4 billion.
Timeline
July 2026: European Commission launched AI funding program.
November 12, 2026: Application period for EU funding program closes.
2030: Global annual data centre investment reaches $1.1 trillion.
2050: Global data centre investment potentially reaches $1.8 trillion annually.
The Tech Race
This wave of investment represents a significant departure from organic growth, following the model set by the European Commission's AI Gigafactory funding program. Nations are now competing directly to secure the hardware and power capacity required to house the next generation of large-scale AI models.
The massive scale of this investment indicates a rapid increase in localized cloud and compute availability for businesses and researchers globally. Organizations should monitor local infrastructure development timelines, as the shift toward AI-optimized data centres will determine the latency and performance of future software services.
The takeaway
The trajectory of data centre spending is now inextricably tied to AI hardware acquisition, moving from a construction-heavy model to one dominated by equipment procurement. Watch for the project selections from the EU's EUR 30 billion funding pool to identify the specific geographic regions prioritizing AI-ready power infrastructure.
What happens next
The application period for the European Commission's AI Gigafactory funding program closes on November 12, 2026.
Further reading
For more on the hardware driving this growth, see our coverage of Data Centers.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Business Review.
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