Bain says the global AI industry must reach roughly $6 tln in annual revenue by 2031 to justify current large‑scale capital spending on global data centers. Its annual global tech report issued Tuesday estimates consumer and enterprise AI services will contribute at most $1.8 tln, leaving an approximate $4.2 tln gap that would need to be filled by automation and robotics and new applications such as drug R&D, mental health and energy production. Bain's global TMT head and lead author David Crawf

Bain says the global AI industry must reach roughly $6 tln in annual revenue by 2031 to justify current large‑scale capital spending on global data centers. Its annual global tech report issued Tuesday estimates consumer and enterprise AI services will contribute at most $1.8 tln, leaving an approximate $4.2 tln gap that would need to be filled by automation and robotics and new applications such as drug R&D, mental health and energy production. Bain's global TMT head and lead author David Crawford warned AI infrastructure build‑out is outpacing demand growth; sustainable financing would likely require global GDP growth about 1 percentage point higher than otherwise.