IDC predicts the global market for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to surpass US$200 billion by 2028. This projection is part of IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Tracker, wherein the analysts estimates spending on compute and storage hardware for AI deployments skyrocketed by 97% year-over-year in the first half of 2024, reaching a remarkable $47.4 billion.
The AI infrastructure market has maintained double-digit growth since 2019, primarily driven by escalating investments in servers dedicated to AI applications. In the first half of 2024, servers represented an impressive 95% of total spending, reflecting a 105% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
A noteworthy trend is the dominance of cloud and shared environments in AI infrastructure, accounting for 72% of total server spending in 1H24. Hyperscalers, cloud service providers, and digital service providers are expanding their infrastructure capabilities, while traditional enterprises have been slower to adopt on-premises AI solutions.
Accelerated servers, which feature embedded AI accelerators, are increasingly favoured for AI platforms. These servers accounted for 70% of total AI infrastructure spending, marking a staggering growth of 178% in the first half of 2024. IDC forecasts that accelerated servers will make up over 75% of server AI infrastructure spending by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% over the next five years.
Storage spending in AI infrastructure also witnessed an 18% year-over-year growth rate in 1H24, driven by the necessity to manage large datasets essential for training AI models. Approximately 40% of this spending was associated with cloud deployments, illustrating the increasing reliance on cloud solutions for AI.
The United States currently leads the global AI infrastructure market, accounting for 59% of total spending in the first half of 2024, followed by the People's Republic of China (20%), Asia-Pacific Japan (APJ) (13%), and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) (7%). Over the next five years, IDC anticipates that the PRC will experience the fastest growth at a CAGR of 35%.
IDC's group vice president, Lidice Fernandez, stated, “Growing concerns around energy consumption for AI infrastructure will become a factor in datacentres looking for alternatives to optimize their architectures and minimize energy use.” As AI adoption accelerates, the focus on sustainable infrastructure solutions is expected to intensify.
