(FILES) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends a talk session with SoftBank group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son in Tokyo on February 3, 2025. The staggering investments in artificial intelligence keep coming: In September 2025, AI chip giant Nvidia announced it would invest $100 billion to help OpenAI, the frontrunner in generative AI, build data centers. AI-related spending is soaring worldwide, expected to reach approximately $1.5 trillion by 2025, according to US research firm Gartner, and over $2 trillion in 2026 -- nearly 2 percent of global GDP. Feeding AI's computing appetite will cost up to $500 billion annually in global data center investments through 2030, requiring $2 trillion in annual revenues to make the expenses viable, according to consulting firm Bain & Company. Even under optimistic assumptions, Bain estimates the AI industry faces an $800 billion deficit. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP) (Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images)