Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are forecasting a combined surge in capital spending tied to artificial intelligence in 2026, taking their planned outlays close to the scale of India’s federal budget for the same period, according to Bloomberg.
India’s Union Budget for 2026-27 estimates total central government expenditure at 53.5 trillion rupees, up 7.7% from the revised estimate for 2025-26, according to official budget documents and a PRS Legislative Research analysis of the budget.
AI spending 2026 approaches India’s budget
The $650 billion figure cited by Bloomberg refers to forecast capital expenditures by the four US tech companies, largely directed at data centres and the computing equipment required to build and run AI systems.
On the India side, the budgeted expenditure of 53.5 trillion rupees is equivalent to about $584 billion at the exchange rate cited in a Reuters budget report ($1 = 91.6710 rupees), underscoring how closely the two totals compare.
What the companies are projecting
Amazon has told investors it expects 2026 capital expenditures of about $200 billion, with spending driven by demand for AI capacity on Amazon Web Services.
Alphabet said capital spending in 2026 could rise to about $175 billion to $185 billion as it expands computing capacity for AI and cloud services.
Meta forecast 2026 capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion as it accelerates its AI infrastructure buildout.
Microsoft has not disclosed a single annual capex figure in the same way, but it reported a quarterly capital spending jump of nearly 66% to $37.5 billion, and analysts have projected around $105 billion of capex for the fiscal year ending in June, according to reports citing Visible Alpha estimates.
Why AI is driving capex higher
The spending plans reflect the capital intensity of modern AI, which depends on large-scale data centres, advanced servers, networking gear and specialised chips. Companies have said the investments are aimed at relieving compute constraints and meeting rising demand for AI workloads across consumer and enterprise products.
The push is also reshaping how some firms fund growth. Recent reporting has highlighted increased reliance on debt markets among major tech groups to support infrastructure spending tied to AI.
Staffing pressures alongside investment
The scale of infrastructure spending is coinciding with continued restructuring across parts of the sector. Amazon said in late January that it was cutting about 16,000 roles as part of organisational changes while continuing to hire and invest in strategic areas.
In India, the government’s budgeted expenditure covers a wide range of priorities, including subsidies, defence, infrastructure and social programmes, as detailed in budget documents and independent budget analysis.