The world’s nine largest cloud service providers are expected to spend more than 1.5 trillion dollars on capital investments in 2027, up 60 percent from this year, according to Trendforce. The market researcher also raised its 2026 forecast to 957 billion dollars, a 106 percent annual increase. AI systems account for approximately 81 percent of the expenditure. Forecast of combined capex among the world’s nine leading cloud service providers, 2024-2027. Source: Trendforce Trendforce attributes the higher spending forecast partly to rising server and component prices amid supply shortages. Some suppliers also require advance payments to secure capacity, bringing cloud providers’ cash expenditures forward. The researcher previously forecast 50 percent growth in their combined capital spending for 2027. AI is currently the primary growth driver for the semiconductor industry. Non-AI markets, such as consumer electronics and automotive, are performing sluggishly. The world’s biggest cloud companies are Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Bytedance, Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu.