U.S. Hyperscalers Project $700 Billion AI Infrastructure Spend in 2026

The largest U.S. hyperscalers are projected to spend more than $700 billion on AI computing infrastructure in 2026, nearly doubling their expenditures from the previous year. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Meta Platforms Incorporated, and Oracle are leading this expansion of data centers to facilitate the training and operation of large-scale AI models.

This infrastructure boom has caused significant strain on power grids and water supplies. These environmental and utility concerns have sparked community opposition and led to project cancellations, including the 2025 unanimous rejection of Amazon's Project Blue data-center campus in Tucson, Arizona. Earlier resource consumption was highlighted by Google data centers in The Dalles, Oregon, which used roughly 355 million gallons of water in 2021.