$2 Trillion in New Revenue Needed to Sustain AI’s Explosive Growth, Bain & Company Reveals in 6th Annual Global Technology Report
September 23, 2025 | San Francisco — The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technologies is set to dramatically increase global computing power demand by 2030, requiring an estimated $2 trillion in new annual revenue to finance the necessary infrastructure, according to Bain & Company’s sixth annual Global Technology Report released today.
The comprehensive study highlights that even with significant savings generated by AI applications, there remains an $800 billion shortfall in funding needed to develop and operate the data centers essential for sustaining AI growth. The forecasted incremental AI compute requirements by 2030 could reach an astonishing 200 gigawatts, with the United States expected to consume half of this power.
Scaling AI Needs Outpace Traditional Growth
Bain’s research emphasizes that AI’s compute demand is outstripping improvements predicted by Moore’s Law, doubling the pace of required investments in data centers and associated infrastructure. The challenge is further compounded by power grids worldwide, many of which have not expanded capacity in decades, struggling to accommodate the surging electrical load necessary to fuel AI compute operations.
David Crawford, chairman of Bain’s Global Technology Practice, underscored the gravity of the situation:
"By 2030, technology executives will face the challenge of deploying roughly $500 billion in capital expenditures and sourcing around $2 trillion in new revenue to meet AI demand profitably. These scaling laws will increasingly stress supply chains globally, and the geopolitical race for AI supremacy only intensifies the risk of under or overbuilding infrastructure."
From Experimentation to Competitive Advantage Through Agentic AI
Despite the mounting demands, many organizations are still experimenting with AI rather than fully scaling it. The report notes that technology leaders who have successfully integrated AI into core workflows have realized EBITDA improvements ranging from 10 to 25 percent over the past two years.
Looking ahead, 5 to 10 percent of technology budgets could be dedicated to establishing foundational agentic AI capabilities — including agent platforms, communication protocols, and real-time data access. Bain projects that as much as half of a company’s technology spending may go toward AI agents operating across various domains.
The report outlines four maturity levels of AI adoption in enterprises, progressing from large language model-powered information retrieval agents to complex multi-agent constellations orchestrating cross-system workflows. Capital investment and innovation currently converge in the development and deployment of single-task and orchestrated agentic workflows, solidifying the gap between leaders and laggards.
However, many enterprises still face challenges in evolving their IT architectures to support secure, contextually-aware AI agents that collaborate seamlessly across multiple data sources — a necessity for realizing AI’s full automation potential.
AI’s Impact on SaaS: Disruption or Expansion?
While generative and agentic AI technologies pose disruption risks to Software as a Service (SaaS) providers, Bain suggests that this shift could actually expand total addressable markets rather than simply threaten incumbents. SaaS companies should assess AI’s potential to automate user tasks and penetrate existing workflows to capitalize on this trend.
SaaS incumbents, armed with deep customer relationships and workflow integrations, are well positioned to benefit from AI innovations, provided they embrace change proactively.
Quantum Computing’s Promise
Complementing AI’s rise, quantum computing emerges as a potential catalyst unlocking up to $250 billion in new market value across industries, according to the report. However, Bain emphasizes that harnessing this technology will require significant investment and innovation alongside AI infrastructure growth.
In Summary:
Bain & Company’s 2025 Global Technology Report delivers a stark forecast: the AI revolution demands vast new revenues and capital expenditures to keep pace with its compute needs, all while enterprises navigate maturation hurdles and emerging technologies like quantum computing. The coming decade will test technology leaders’ agility and strategic investments as they race to unlock AI’s transformative potential.
For more detailed insights and to access the full report, visit Bain & Company’s website.
