Big Tech’s AI binge: $400 billion and climbing
America’s largest tech companies are engaged in an unprecedented arms race — not in weaponry, but in artificial intelligence. In 2025 alone, industry giants have poured a staggering $155 billion into AI development, eclipsing what the U.S. government has spent this fiscal year on education, training, employment, and social services combined.
According to the latest financial disclosures, the momentum shows no sign of slowing. The AI investment wave is on track to reach hundreds of billions within the year, with Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet leading the charge.
In their most recent quarterly earnings reports, each of these companies revealed capital expenditures (capex) already in the tens of billions — a direct reflection of their aggressive AI strategies. Capex, the funds spent to acquire or upgrade physical assets, has become a key metric for measuring tech’s AI push. AI infrastructure demands massive investments in power-hungry data centers and high-performance chips. As Google stated, its capex “primarily reflects investments in servers and data centers to support AI.”
Who’s spending what?
Meta reported $30.7 billion in year-to-date capex — double last year’s figure for the same period. In Q2 alone, it spent $17 billion, again doubling from Q2 2024.
Alphabet has nearly hit $40 billion in capex for the first half of the year.
Amazon leads so far with $55.7 billion spent.
Microsoft projects over $30 billion in capex this quarter — 50% more than the same quarter last year — surpassing its record $24.2 billion spent in Q2 2024.
Microsoft CFO Amy Hood (pictured above) summed up the sentiment: “We will continue to invest against the expansive opportunity ahead.”
And the numbers are set to climb even higher.
Microsoft plans to invest approximately $100 billion in AI during the next fiscal year.
Meta expects to spend between $66 billion and $72 billion.
Alphabet now anticipates $85 billion, up from its previous $75 billion estimate.
Amazon projects $100 billion in total 2025 capex, with analysts forecasting up to $118 billion.
That puts the total expected capital expenditures for the big four tech companies above $400 billion for the coming year — dwarfing the European Union’s quarterly defense budget.
Yet Wall Street has responded with enthusiasm. Microsoft, Google, and Meta all revised their capex guidance upwards during their earnings calls, and investors cheered. Microsoft’s market cap surged to $4 trillion following its earnings announcement.
Apple joins the race — cautiously
Apple, traditionally tight-lipped about spending, has begun to ramp up its AI investments. Its capex rose to $3.46 billion in the most recent quarter, up from $2.15 billion a year earlier. CEO Tim Cook confirmed that a “fair number” of employees are being reassigned to AI-focused work and reiterated Apple’s commitment to integrating AI across its products.
However, Cook refrained from providing a specific AI spending figure. “We are significantly growing our investment, I’m not putting specific numbers behind that,” he said. Though the company has rolled out several AI-powered features under its “Apple Intelligence” banner, updates to Siri have lagged — something Cook seemed to acknowledge, noting Apple’s long history of arriving late but ultimately reshaping product categories.
The Chase Extends Beyond Big Tech
Startups are racing to catch up. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, closed an $8.3 billion investment round — part of a larger $40 billion fundraising effort — valuing the firm at $300 billion.
In a tech economy increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, capital is king. And right now, Silicon Valley is outspending nearly everyone else — by design.