New Delhi: A new report by Bain & Company reveals that at least $2 trillion in annual revenue will be required to fund the computing power needed to meet the anticipated global AI demand by 2030. Despite potential AI-related savings, the world still faces an $800 billion shortfall to keep pace with this growing demand.
According to the report, global incremental AI compute requirements could reach 200 gigawatts by 2030, with the United States accounting for half of this power consumption. Even if US companies redirected all their on-premise IT budgets to the cloud and reinvested AI-generated savings from sales, marketing, customer support, and R&D into capital spending on new data centers, the funds would still be insufficient to cover the full investment needed. This is because AI’s compute demand is increasing at more than twice the rate of Moore’s Law, Bain noted.
“By 2030, technology executives will face the challenge of deploying about $500 billion in capital expenditures and securing roughly $2 trillion in new revenue to profitably meet demand,” explained David Crawford, chairman of Bain’s Global Technology Practice. He added that since AI compute demand is outpacing semiconductor efficiency, there will be dramatic increases in power supply requirements on grids that have not expanded capacity for decades.
The report also highlights the complexities created by the competitive arms race among nations and leading technology providers. This dynamic brings risks of both overbuilding and underbuilding infrastructure, making strategic planning more challenging than ever. Navigating potential innovations, infrastructure constraints, supply shortages, and algorithmic improvements will be critical in the coming years, Crawford emphasized.
While computational demand surges, many leading companies have transitioned from piloting AI capabilities to profiting from AI at scale. Organizations applying AI across core workflows have achieved earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) gains ranging from 10% to 25% over the past two years. However, the report notes that most companies remain in experimental stages with AI and are content with modest productivity improvements.
Bain also found that tariffs, export controls, and government efforts worldwide to develop sovereign AI capabilities are accelerating the fragmentation of global technology supply chains. Cutting-edge fields like AI have evolved beyond being mere catalysts for economic growth to becoming essential instruments of political power and national security.
“Sovereign AI capabilities are increasingly regarded as a strategic advantage comparable to economic and military strength,” said Anne Hoecker, head of Bain’s Global Technology Practice.
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https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/ai-boom-by-2030-2-trillion-in-annual-revenue-needed-to-power-global-computing-demand
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