IT market research firm Gartner forecast global AI spending in 2026 will rise 44 percent from a year earlier to $2.5278 trillion (about 3,736 trillion won).

John-David Lovelock, a Gartner senior VP analyst, said, “AI adoption does not depend on financial investment, but is driven by the level of readiness in human capabilities and organisational processes.” He added, “The more mature the organisation, the more it is reshaping its AI investment strategy around proven results rather than uncertain potential.”

He also said, “AI is expected to remain in the ‘trough of disillusionment’ phase through 2026. As a result, AI will spread mainly through software vendors already in use, rather than being pursued as standalone projects.” He added, “For AI to spread across enterprises, predictability around return on investment (ROI) must come first.”

According to Gartner, as AI-based buildouts expand, spending on AI-optimised servers is expected to rise 49 percent from a year earlier, and the investment is forecast to account for about 17 percent of total AI spending. As technology companies expand their AI foundations, AI infrastructure spending is projected to increase by about $401 billion from a year earlier.