“Incredible” Spending: AI Boom Fuels $3Tn Datacenter Gold Rush

An “incredible” global investment spree in artificial intelligence is fueling a $3 trillion gold rush to build the “central nervous system” of the new economy: datacenters. These vast warehouses, which power tools like ChatGPT, are at the center of a boom that has seen tech valuations soar to unprecedented heights.
The market optimism is palpable. AI chipmaker Nvidia recently became the first $5tn company, while Microsoft and Apple have both hit $4tn. Google’s parent, Alphabet, just reported its first $100bn quarter. This financial success is driving tech’s four “hyperscalers”—Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft—to spend over $750bn on AI infrastructure in the next two years.
This gold rush is transforming communities. In Newport, Wales, a Microsoft datacenter is rising on the site of a former factory, offering a “generational employment opportunity” and a chance for the city to “embrace the future.”
But like all gold rushes, this one has a “speculative” dark side. Analysts warn of a $1.5tn funding gap being filled by risky “private credit.” Alibaba’s chair sees a “bubble” in projects raising funds without customers. And the Uptime Institute cautions that many announced datacenters “will never be built.”
The industry is betting that the 800 million weekly users of ChatGPT are a sign of sustainable demand. But with an MIT study showing 95% of business AI pilots yield zero return, some worry this $3tn gold rush could end with many holding empty pockets.