AI buildout propels tech firms to top of US investment ranking: Study

The rapid buildout of artificial intelligence is making technology firms some of the top capital investors in the U.S., according to new research shared first with The Hill.

The report, to be published by the think tank Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) Wednesday, found tech firms Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft invested more than half — $269 billion — of the $520 billion in U.S. capital spending last year.

Amazon tops this list, with just over $93 million in estimated domestic expenditures last year. Financial and non-health insurance companies were excluded from the analysis.

This marked a 61.1 percent increase from their spending in 2024, with analysts pointing to the increased demand for compute and the infrastructure needed to power AI. Oracle also made the top 10, spending more than $15.7 million in domestic investments.

Michael Mandel, PPI’s chief economist who runs the annual “Investment Heroes” report, told The Hill his team hasn’t “seen any great growth out of the companies that are investing in the AI boom.”

Other top domestic spenders on the list include Walmart, Verizon Communications, AT&T, Apple, Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

When PPI first started this report in 2012, industrial companies — such as those in fiber networks, power grids and retailers — dominated the top of the lists, but over time, the tech firms “just kept rising.”

The utilities, construction and and manufacturing sectors were originally projected to grow in productivity by at least 14 percent from 2016 to 2026, but all three fell by at least 4.5 percent from 2014 to 2024, according to the report.

The information sector, including the Big Tech firms, internet providers and semiconductor firms, was the only to actually grow in productivity, by 61.3 percent, the report states.

PPI acknowledged the backlash facing AI firms and data center hyperscalers, but argued concerns are “manageable.”

“True, data centers can bring real issues like electricity rates, water use, or noise,” the think tank wrote. “Local and state governments have access to a selection of practical tools that minimize impacts and ensure that communities reap the benefits of the investment they host.

“The massive buildout of data centers, chips, transmission, and connectivity are positioning the country for growth and strategic strength.”

Mandel added the AI boom is “the only game in town really” when it comes to boosting productivity and increasing living standards and affordability.

He hopes AI ambitions can revive other sectors, like manufacturing, by generating new jobs and increasing productivity.

“We sort of live in this world in which the digital sector have invested a lot and grown much faster, and the physical sectors … have invested a lot less and grown much more slowly,” Mandel said. “Our task here going forward, if we want to meet the changes, we have to sort of use AI to help accelerate growth in manufacturing.”

“If we were just investing in AI for better chatbots, you can understand [why] people will be troubled by data centers,” he added. “If the data centers are going to be surrounded by sort of high tech manufacturing that can sort of add jobs and reduce costs, it becomes a much more appealing proposition.”

Public sentiment around AI and the firms behind it has plummeted over the past year amid concerns around data centers, the labor workforce and its ability to supercharge bad actors.

A Gallup poll released in July found public confidence in large technology companies was at a record low, dropping from 32 percent in 2020 to 20 percent in 2026.

Market analysts have expressed concerns this year that major tech firms’ AI ambitions are causing these companies to take on massive amounts of debt in the interim.

There has been a massive increase in bonds issued by these hyperscalers, surging from just $16.7 billion in 2024 to $193 billion so far in 2026, according to data from LSEG.

To conduct the study, PPI’s analysts selected the top 200 companies from the Fortune 500 list, removing financial and non-health insurance companies. All of the companies included in the rankings are based in the U.S.; due to data comparability issues, internationally based companies were not included.

Researchers estimated U.S. capital expenditures based on data in companies’ annual 10-K statements and other financial documents.