Bain said AI needs $6 trillion in yearly sales by 2031.
That is the annual revenue required to justify what is being spent on data centres, Bain & Company said in its annual technology report on Tuesday.
Existing AI services for consumers and companies could bring in up to $1.8 trillion, Bain estimates. The remaining $4.2 trillion has to come from newer uses such as robots, autonomous machines, drug discovery and energy.
Bain expects $5 trillion to $6.5 trillion of cumulative data-centre investment by 2030, adding at least 150 gigawatts of capacity.
A year ago, Bain said AI needed $2 trillion a year by 2030 and projected an $800 billion shortfall.
"The economics of AI infrastructure demand trillions in new revenue beyond productivity gains," said David Crawford, chairman of Bain's technology practice and the report's lead author.
Which AI tool in your company would still pay for itself if its price reflected what the data centres cost?
Image: AI-generated.
Sources
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