Estimated $2.6 trillion needed for 2030 AI market spending scale

Boston Consulting Group estimated in an October 29 report that the global AI industry outside China would need roughly $2.55 trillion (about $2.6 trillion rounded) in annual end-market spending by 2030 to cover data center and AI model company costs plus investor returns. The figure is a cost-coverage calculation, not a confirmed infrastructure investment total or actual revenue forecast. Data center costs were modeled mainly around the US, where most new capacity is being built. BCG's model attributes $1.8 trillion of the total to enterprise spending, split between budget reallocation and new outlays. The estimate matters because it implies AI revenue must scale several-fold from current levels to justify the buildout. What to watch next is whether enterprise AI budgets shift from pilots to production spending and whether data center investment tracks the implied demand curve.