PwC sees $31.6T in AI data-center spend

PwC projects $31.6 trillion in global data-center investment through 2050, with annual spending rising from about $800 billion in 2026 to $1.8 trillion by 2050, according to Energy Connects’ report on PwC’s Global Data Center Outlook. PwC says recurring chip upgrades—not construction—will absorb most of the cycle, while power availability is the leading location constraint; its faster-adoption scenario reaches $50 trillion. For teams pricing the site’s $3 trillion data-center capex path, takeaway: hardware refresh and electricity contracts—not just buildings—now determine whether projected AI capacity becomes usable.