The four leading U.S. tech behemoths—Alphabet (Google's parent company), Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft—forecast that their aggregate capital expenditures will surge to roughly $650 billion by 2026. This substantial investment is earmarked predominantly for the construction of new data centers and the acquisition of associated equipment. In their quest to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) market, these companies are engaging in spending on a scale unprecedented in this century, rivaling the magnitude of historical endeavors such as the U.S. railway expansion of the 19th century.

The collective capital outlay is anticipated to escalate by approximately 60% year-over-year, a trend that could not only expedite the global proliferation of data centers but also exert pressure on energy supplies, drive up electricity costs, and introduce distortions in macroeconomic indicators. Analysts highlight that all four firms perceive the AI computing power competition as a "winner-takes-all" arena. Recently, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon each unveiled their individual capital expenditure strategies, all of which have garnered considerable attention from the market.