Massive global demand for AI technology is causing data centers to increase spending on servers, power, and cooling infrastructure. As a result, data center CapEx spending will hit $1.1 trillion by 2029, up from $430 billion in 2024, according to Dell’Oro Group.
Much of this growth is due to AI.
Enterprises are now spending about 35% of their data center CapEx budgets on accelerated servers optimized for AI, up from 15% in 2023, says Dell’Oro analyst Baron Fung. And the proportion will increase to 41% by 2029.
For hyperscalers, the AI investment is even higher, as they are already spending 40% of their budgets on accelerated servers. And these servers cost quite a bit more than traditional ones, he says, which typically cost around $7,000 or $8,000. “AI servers can be $100,000 to $200,000, especially when equipped with the latest Nvidia CPUs,” Fung tells Network World.
As a result, just four companies – Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft – will account for nearly half of global data center capex this year, he says.
