Artificial intelligence has outgrown its status as a mere technology trend and is now functioning as a macroeconomic force, according to new analysis from LSEG Data & Analytics.
The scale of capital flowing into AI infrastructure is reshaping global investment patterns, inflation dynamics and capital markets, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of semiconductor demand, cloud spending and energy consumption.
LSEG Data & Analytics highlights that during 2025, major players including Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Oracle committed an estimated $300bn to AI infrastructure spanning chips, data centres, power and specialised labour.
Looking ahead, LSEG data shows the five largest US hyperscalers are projected to spend roughly $720bn on capital expenditure during 2026, underpinned by rapidly expanding AI-related revenues. Microsoft’s annualised AI revenue run rate reached $37bn, up 123% year-on-year, while AWS posted its fastest revenue growth in over three years.
This wave of investment is already filtering through into inflation. Prices for computer software and accessories climbed almost 14% over the past 12 months, reversing years of decline, while wholesale prices for electronic components rose 28% in the same period. US imports of computers more than doubled in the first quarter of 2026 to around $93bn, with semiconductor imports up 40% and computer accessory imports up 37% year-on-year, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
Energy is proving another key constraint. US electricity production rose 3.0% year-on-year in March 2026, following gains of 2.5% in 2024 and 2.4% in 2025, as AI data centres expand rapidly. Consumer electricity prices increased 4.6% over the same period, underlining how AI investment is pushing inflationary pressure beyond chips and into utilities.
LSEG Data & Analytics notes that while the current phase is inflationary, AI could ultimately prove disinflationary as automation and productivity gains offset labour and capital costs, though this transition is expected to be sequential rather than immediate, posing a delicate balancing act for central banks.
South Korea has emerged as a standout beneficiary given its role in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix central to the high-bandwidth memory supply chain. The KOSPI has been among the world’s strongest-performing indices, though it saw a correction of more than 8%, which LSEG Data & Analytics attributes to profit-taking rather than weaker fundamentals.
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