AI needs $6T in annual revenue to justify data centre boom

The AI industry must generate $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2031 to justify massive investments in data centre infrastructure, according to a new Bain & Company report. New product development in areas like search, advertising, and physical AI is expected to contribute $4.2 trillion of that revenue, while annual AI infrastructure spending alone could reach $1.5 trillion by 2031, with data centre sizes and costs doubling every 12-16 months.