Worldwide data center capital spending is projected to surpass $3 trillion by 2030, according to a Dell'Oro Group forecast reported by Data Center Knowledge. The research firm 2030 outlook has nearly doubled since its January 2026 estimate, reflecting higher hyperscaler spending guidance, larger assumptions for global data center power capacity and rising commodity costs.

Chips take the single largest slice. "AI accelerators are expected to account for about a third of the $3 trillion in data center capex," said Baron Fung, vice president at Dell'Oro Group. The balance covers servers to host those chips, specialized networking for AI clusters, storage, power distribution and cooling.

The forecast assumes global data center power availability climbs above 200 GW. Dell'Oro estimates the four largest US cloud providers alone could account for roughly half of global data center capital spending. Its AI-specialized cloud category, covering model developers and neocloud operators, is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of nearly 60%.

Concentration at that scale carries pricing consequences. Fung said the largest cloud providers are using long-term supplier agreements to secure preferred pricing and capacity commitments, which can reduce component availability for other buyers, extend lead times and raise prices.

Power procurement is reshaping project economics as well. Luke Edney, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, said grid connection timelines in established markets can exceed five years, pushing developers toward locations with surplus generation and utilities willing to move quickly. "Power is also changing the economics of projects," Edney said. Modern facilities can require hundreds of megawatts, and some campuses are now designed at gigawatt scale.

Source: Data Center Knowledge - https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/ai-data-centers/ai-infrastructure-pushes-data-center-capex-forecast-above-3-trillion