STAMFORD, Conn., Aug 10: Worldwide AI–optimized infrastructure as a service (IaaS) spending is projected to grow 96% through 2026, reaching $42 billion, according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company. 

“This growth is driven by continued demand for infrastructure to support large language model (LLM) training and the rapid operationalization of AI across enterprise applications and workflows,” said Hardeep Singh, Sr Principal Research Analyst at Gartner. 

The market is forecast to sustain high growth and reach $66 billion in 2027 (see Table 1).  

Inference Workload Spending to Surpass Training Spending in 2026

The rise of agentic AI amplifies compute intensity through multistep, autonomous execution, making inference the dominant consumption model and positioning AI–optimized IaaS as a critical enabler of enterprise AI strategies.  

“As organizations shift from model development to production-scale deployment, fine-tuned and domain-specific models (DSMs) are increasingly integrated into customer-facing and operational systems, requiring continuous, real-time execution rather than periodic training,” said Singh. “This shift is accelerating the cloud consumption patterns and creating sustained demand for AI–optimized infrastructure.” 

In 2026, global spending on inference ($23.3 billion) will surpass that of training ($19 billion). Fifty-five percent of AI–optimized IaaS spending is forecast to support inference in 2026 and is set to reach 59% in 2027. The growing share of inference workloads is expected to reshape cloud investment priorities. 

Additional Insights Available

Gartner clients can read more in Forecast Analysis: AI–Optimized IaaS, Worldwide, 2026. 

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Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo

Additional AI trends will be discussed during Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, the world’s most important conference for CIOs and other IT executives. Gartner analysts and attendees will explore how to become agents of change in their organizations and harness AI for successful digital transformation. Follow news and updates from the conferences on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerSYM, and on the Gartner Newsroom. 

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