New Delhi [India], July 20 : Worldwide end-user spending on artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and models is projected to reach USD 64 billion in 2026, up 63.4 per cent from USD 39 billion in 2025, according to a report by Gartner, a business and technology insights company.
It highlighted that spending on generative AI (GenAI) models is expected to grow 117 per cent in 2026, while spending on AI platforms is forecast to increase 36.9 per cent during the year.
According to Gartner, enterprise AI spending is entering a new phase, with companies paying greater attention to how efficiently AI is being used, how much it costs and whether it delivers measurable business outcomes.
"Enterprise AI budgets are coming under greater scrutiny, with increased focus on usage efficiency, cost control and measurable outcomes," said Arunasree Cheparthi, Senior Principal Research Analyst at Gartner.
She said spending is increasingly shifting towards AI providers that can demonstrate value across cost, latency, performance and reliability.
"This is giving an edge to providers that embed evaluation, cost transparency and usage tracking into customer workflows, making it easier to manage and optimise AI use. However, as spending becomes more usage-driven, providers face increasing pressure to demonstrate real adoption, sustained use and durable margins," Cheparthi added.
The report said this trend is driving rapid growth in domain-specific language models (DSLMs) and specialised AI models, which are expected to record the fastest growth among all segments.
According to the forecast, spending on Foundation Generative AI Models will increase from USD 11.4 billion in 2025 to USD 23.4 billion in 2026, registering a growth of 104.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, spending on DSLMs and Specialised GenAI Models is expected to rise from USD 1.6 billion to USD 4.9 billion, marking a 210 per cent increase in 2026.
The report also projected spending on AI Application Development Platforms to increase from USD 6.9 billion in 2025 to USD 9.5 billion in 2026, while spending on AI Platforms for Data Science and Machine Learning is expected to rise from USD 19.4 billion to USD 26.4 billion during the same period.
Looking ahead, Gartner said vendors that help enterprises manage AI usage across their businesses are likely to benefit the most as the market evolves.