NEW YORK (Realist English). The global artificial intelligence industry has reached a turning point: massive investments are finally beginning to translate into record profits. According to Grand View Research, the AI market—valued at $390.9 billion in 2025—is projected to grow to $539.5 billion in 2026 and exceed $3.5 trillion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 30.6%.
Behind these impressive figures lies a new economic reality: AI is rapidly reshaping the global economy, reconfiguring trade flows, and redistributing income in favor of the largest technology corporations. At the center of this transformation is the “big four” — Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta—which already spend around 1% of global GDP on AI infrastructure and plan to double that investment within five years.
Record Quarters: A Golden Age for Tech Giants
The financial results of major technology companies for the first quarter of 2026 confirm that the AI bet is paying off.
Nvidia continues to dominate more than 90% of the AI chip market, including its new Blackwell architecture. The company reported revenue of $44.1 billion (+69% year-on-year) and profit of $18.8 billion (+26%).
Microsoft is seeing explosive growth: its AI business has reached an annualized run rate of $37 billion (+123%). Total revenue stood at $82.9 billion (+18%), with net income hitting a record $31.8 billion.
Alphabet (Google) achieved a breakthrough in cloud computing: Google Cloud revenue surged 63% to $20 billion. Total revenue reached $109.9 billion (+22%), while net profit jumped more than 81% to $62.6 billion, the highest among major tech firms.
Meta increased net income by 61% to $26.8 billion, with revenue of $56.3 billion.
Amazon maintained its leadership in cloud computing: AWS grew 28% to $37.6 billion, while net income nearly doubled to $30.3 billion.
Combined quarterly profits of these companies approached $170 billion, exceeding the annual budgets of most countries.
Only Apple (revenue $111.2 billion, profit $29.6 billion) still lags in the AI race but is rapidly closing the gap.
Investment Boom: Revolution or Bubble?
The market capitalization of the AI sector is rising at an unprecedented pace. Nvidia alone has added value comparable to entire national economies in just a few months.
According to Bloomberg, total AI infrastructure investment by Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta will reach $715–725 billion in 2026. Estimates from BCC Research suggest global annual investments already exceed $650 billion.
Gartner forecasts that spending on generative AI will surpass $300 billion in 2026, while the enterprise AI software market will grow from $30.3 billion to $367.6 billion by 2034.
However, Morgan Stanley warns that roughly $3 trillion in investments remain at an early stage, with up to 80% of spending still ahead. By 2026, investors are expected to demand tangible returns.
So far, the results are mixed:
- Only 39% of companies report measurable profit impact
- 56% see no tangible benefits
- Up to 95% of pilot projects fail to deliver expected returns.
As McKinsey notes:
“AI has already transformed the global economy, but most companies still don’t know how to monetize it.”
AI as the Engine of a New Industrial Revolution
According to IDC, AI will generate $22.3 trillion for the global economy by 2030—about 3.7% of global GDP.
PwC highlights stark inequality:
20% of companies capture 74% of all economic gains, while the remaining 80% are limited to experimental projects.
This points to a structural shift toward “supercapitalism,” where dominant players capture an increasing share of value through control of AI infrastructure.
Geopolitics: The U.S. vs. China
The rivalry between the United States and China is becoming a defining factor in AI development.
The U.S. strategy focuses on restrictions: export controls, bans on advanced chip supplies, and sanctions.
China is pursuing a pragmatic approach:
- lowering computing costs
- developing domestic semiconductors
- building more efficient AI models
A key event will be the U.S.–China summit on May 15, 2026, where AI is expected to be the central topic. Donald Trump has already described the meeting as “critically important.”
At the same time, Beijing is tightening oversight: in May 2026, Chinese authorities blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus.
Meanwhile, Huawei is scaling up production: output of Ascend 950PR chips is expected to reach 750,000 units in 2026, with shipments beginning in the second half of the year.
The key takeaway: sanctions have not halted China’s AI development—they have accelerated its shift toward technological self-sufficiency.
The global AI market has reached technological maturity but remains financially uneven.
On one hand, it is the fastest-growing segment of the global economy, generating extraordinary profits for tech giants.
On the other, most companies are still unable to extract meaningful value from AI adoption.
The geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China in artificial intelligence is becoming a cornerstone of the emerging world order.
