Big Tech doubles down on AI as spending surges

The world’s biggest technology companies are spending at record levels to power the artificial intelligence boom that’s reshaping the digital economy. Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft revealed fresh financial figures this week, each showing aggressive investments aimed at securing dominance in AI technology.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced that its capital expenditures for 2025 will range between $70 billion and $72 billion, up from earlier projections of $66–72 billion. The company added that its spending in 2026 will be “notably larger” as it continues to expand its AI capabilities.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, said the company’s focus is on advancing AI-driven tools and improving its core advertising business. He emphasized that Meta’s infrastructure remains “compute-starved,” underlining the need to accelerate AI investments.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, also raised its capital expenditure forecast to $91–93 billion for this year, compared to an earlier estimate of $85 billion. The revised outlook is nearly double what the company reported for 2024, highlighting how quickly its AI ambitions are scaling up.

Microsoft followed suit, reporting $34.9 billion in capital expenditures for the quarter ending September 30 — up sharply from $24 billion in the previous quarter. The tech giant said the surge reflects its continued push to expand data centers and AI infrastructure.

CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft is increasing investments “in both capital and talent” to seize the “massive opportunity ahead.” The company’s cloud arm, Azure, along with AI tools like Copilot, continue to be central to that growth.

The strong focus on AI has also driven investor enthusiasm, helping all three tech giants outperform the broader S&P 500 index. Meta’s quarterly revenue rose despite an 83% drop in profit due to a one-time tax charge, while Microsoft and Alphabet posted healthy profit gains of 12% and 33%, respectively.

As competition intensifies, it’s clear that the race to dominate artificial intelligence is reshaping not just Silicon Valley’s spending habits but the entire tech landscape.