AI demand could push data centre spend to USD 500 billion a year by 2030

Bain & Company’s sixth annual Global Technology Report warns that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence could push global data centre spending to nearly USD 500 billion a year by 2030. With that level of investment, it is expected that the firms would require around USD 2 trillion in new cloud revenue annually.

“Technology executives will be faced with the challenge of deploying about USD 500 billion in capital expenditures and finding about USD 2 trillion in new revenue to profitably meet demand,” said David Crawford, Chairman of Bain’s Global Technology Practice. “Because AI compute demand is outpacing semiconductor efficiency, the trends call for dramatic increases in power supply on grids that have not added capacity for decades”, he added.

Despite the expected cost savings from AI adoption, Bain projects a USD 800 billion shortfall in the funds needed to meet this demand. The report calculates that worldwide AI computing requirements could climb to 200 gigawatts of capacity by the end of the decade, with the United States accounting for half of that.

Even if American enterprises redirected all on-premise IT budgets to the cloud and reinvested savings from AI-driven efficiencies in sales, marketing, and research, the gap would remain.

AI deployment and agentic systems

Bain’s research shows that companies that have scaled AI across core business workflows are already recording profitability gains of between 10% and 25%. At the same time, many organisations remain in early phases, reporting only small productivity improvements.

The report highlights the growing focus on agentic AI, describing a four-stage maturity model:

1. Large language model-powered retrieval agents
2. Single-task workflows
3. Cross-system orchestration
4. Multi-agent constellations

Most investment today is concentrated at the second and third stages, where automation and orchestration are beginning to take hold. Bain estimates that between 5% and 10% of technology budgets could shift to AI agent platforms and security frameworks in the next three to five years, with as much as half of technology spending eventually directed at agent systems.

SaaS at the crossroads

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry faces mounting pressure from generative and agentic AI. Bain argues that incumbents have an opportunity to expand rather than lose relevance if they adapt their business models. The report points to strategies such as owning critical data, setting standards, and adopting outcome-based pricing to remain competitive in an AI-first market.

Beyond AI: Quantum and Robotics

Beyond AI, there are opportunities in quantum computing and humanoid robotics. Quantum systems, if scaled to full fault tolerance, could generate up to USD 250 billion in value across industries, including finance, pharmaceuticals, logistics, and materials science.

Meanwhile, humanoid robotics startups have drawn about USD 2.5 billion in venture funding. The report expects early deployment in warehouse and logistics, followed by gradual adoption in service roles.

Investment outlook

Technology deal-making continues to be the centre of attention in private equity, making up 22% of North American buyouts in the first half of 2025. Bain reports that investors are now focusing on AI-driven business transformation and outcome-based agreements, even as deal momentum slows due to trade tensions and tariffs.