Companies spend more on AI than on staff salaries

Companies are now spending more on AI tools than on employee salaries, pushing IT budgets higher, according to an Axios analysis.

Several industry leaders claim their spending on AI tools has skyrocketed. Nvidia’s vice president of applied deep learning, Bryan Catanzaro, said compute costs now far exceed workforce expenses for some teams. 

Uber’s CTO reportedly exhausted the company’s entire 2026 AI budget due to heavy token usage, according to The Information. A Swan AI CEO also highlighted soaring costs linked to advanced AI tools in a viral LinkedIn post.

According to Gartner, global IT spending is projected to reach $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5% from 2025, driven largely by AI infrastructure and cloud services.

However, companies now face pressure to prove real productivity gains as investors demand clear returns on rising AI investments.