Artificial intelligence is reshaping the global cloud infrastructure market as the world’s largest cloud service providers (CSPs) sharply increase capital expenditure to meet soaring demand for AI computing power, according to TrendForce.
Combined Capex from the world’s top nine CSPs — including Google, Amazon Web Services, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Oracle, ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba Group, and Baidu — will reach approximately $830 billion in 2026.
TrendForce has raised its annual growth forecast for CSP capital expenditure from 61 percent to 79 percent, highlighting the aggressive acceleration of AI infrastructure investments globally.
Among the leading hyperscalers, Microsoft is expected to post one of the highest growth rates, with Capex projected to hit $190 billion in 2026, representing nearly 130 percent year-on-year growth.
TrendForce indicated that approximately $25 billion of Microsoft’s increased spending is linked to rising component costs, reflecting supply chain inflation in GPUs, memory, networking, and advanced semiconductor technologies.
Google has also expanded its infrastructure spending guidance from $175-185 billion to $180-190 billion, with growth exceeding 100 percent.
Meta has revised its Capex target upward from $115-135 billion to $125-145 billion, implying approximately 85 percent annual growth.
AWS is forecast to exceed $230 billion in capital expenditure this year, supported by strong demand for AI cloud services and generative AI workloads.
North American CSPs are investing at a pace that exceeds the global average, reinforcing the strategic importance of AI infrastructure. Much of the spending is concentrated on high-performance GPU clusters, custom AI accelerators, in-house ASIC development, and next-generation hyperscale data centers optimized for high-density computing.
The rapid growth in Capex is also accelerating global data center expansion. AWS, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Oracle collectively operated between 800 and 900 data centers worldwide by the end of 2025, with AWS maintaining the largest footprint among hyperscalers.
Chinese CSPs are also intensifying investments, although with differing strategies. Alibaba is emphasizing sovereign cloud and localized infrastructure expansion through Alibaba Cloud. Since unveiling its global expansion strategy in 2025, Alibaba has launched new cloud regions in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands, expanding its network to 29 regions and 94 availability zones worldwide.
ByteDance, driven by the international expansion of TikTok, is pursuing one of the most aggressive overseas cloud infrastructure strategies among Chinese technology companies. The company has established operations in eight countries, including the U.S., Brazil, and Ireland, while investing heavily in Europe, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Global data center installed power capacity is set to reach around 155 GW in 2026, representing 29 percent growth. AI servers are projected to consume more electricity than traditional general-purpose servers in 2026 because of their substantially higher power requirements.
There will be another major jump in energy consumption between 2027 and 2028 as next-generation AI platforms such as GB300, Rubin, and ASIC-based AI servers enter mass production. This trend is expected to create additional opportunities for suppliers of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power systems, advanced thermal management technologies, and liquid cooling infrastructure critical for AI data centers.
RAJANI BABURAJAN
