A looming wave of spending across the AI buildout is forcing a rethink of how governments and corporations work together to build the next generation of the global economy.
In its 2026 Investment Outlook, trillion-dollar asset titan Brookfield says AI is emerging as a general-purpose technology on par with electricity and the internet, with the potential to reshape every sector of the economy.
But Brookfield says realizing the promise of AI will require infrastructure spending on a scale that traditional public funding models can no longer support.
“Artificial general intelligence could unlock as much as $10 trillion in productivity gains over the next decade, but will require $7 trillion of infrastructure investment across the AI value chain to realize its potential.”
Brookfield says the buildout spans far beyond software, encompassing data centers, dedicated power generation, compute infrastructure such as GPUs and strategic adjacencies including semiconductor manufacturing and fiber networks.
The firm notes that capital intensity is accelerating rapidly. AI workloads already consume up to ten times more power per rack than conventional computing, with expectations of another five-to-tenfold increase as rack density continues to rise.
Despite hyperscale capital expenditures projected to jump from $400 billion this year to $1 trillion by 2030, Brookfield says even the staggering surge in funding will not be enough.
According to the asset manager, Big Tech may not be able to rely on governments to bridge the massive funding gap amid record-level debt. Brookfield believes that the AI buildout needs to tap private capital and form a triumvirate to meet capital requirements.
“With sovereign governments facing record debt levels and large tech firms seeking to team with well-capitalized partners, there is a tremendous opportunity to formulate innovative capital partnerships
to meet these capital needs and deliver the essential infrastructure to meet demand.”
The shift comes amid a wave of deglobalization as countries like the US push for supply chain independence.
“Parallel to these technological shifts, deglobalization is redrawing the geography of economic activity. What began as a movement to reshore strategic industries has evolved into a systemic restructuring of energy, manufacturing and logistics ecosystems. Governments and corporates alike are prioritizing supply chain resilience, energy security and technological sovereignty.”
According to Brookfield, the shifting global supply chain landscape makes alliances between Big Tech, governments and private capital seem to be the only viable path forward.
“The US remains the deepest near-term market, followed by Western Europe and select Asia-Pacific economies. In each region, large-scale partnerships with corporates and sovereigns are becoming the preferred model to deliver capital efficiently and at speed.”
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