Artificial intelligence (AI)-related investment is having a larger economic impact in the US than its direct contribution to business investment alone would suggest. UBS research shows the AI boom is not confined to the technology sector; it is also stimulating business activity and capital spending across a range of industries.
According to a UBS research note published on September 25 by UBS economist Arend Kapteyn, AI-related technology investment rose about 30% year on year. By comparison, other core business capital investment grew just 0.8%, while investment in residential real estate fell 3.8%.
These figures indicate that US investment growth is currently driven mainly by AI-related spending.
UBS: AI investment has a strong indirect impact
According to UBS estimates, the multiplier—or indirect economic impact—of AI investment is quite high. Spending on data centers, energy infrastructure, computers, telecommunications equipment, and special-purpose machinery encourages additional investment in sectors outside technology.
According to the bank’s analysis, a 1 percentage point increase in AI-related investment leads to an approximately 1.46 percentage point rise in total investment in the next quarter. Of that increase, 0.46 percentage points comes from continued investment in AI-related categories, 0.30 percentage points from software and research and development spending, and 0.69 percentage points from other sectors.
How UBS measures AI investment
UBS considers five main categories from the national accounts to measure AI investment: electricity transmission and distribution equipment, special industrial machinery, computers and peripheral equipment, telecommunications equipment, and data centers.
Together, these categories account for about 18% of nonresidential fixed capital investment and about 2.5% of gross domestic product.
Multiplier effects extend beyond data centers
The multiplier effect is especially evident in sectors that support data center operations. Rising demand for gas turbines, electricity infrastructure, and utilities demonstrates how AI investment spills beyond the technology sector.
UBS also cites Japan’s TOTO among less obvious beneficiaries. The company’s expertise in ceramics production has enabled it to make electrostatic chucks used in semiconductor manufacturing. According to the report, those products now provide more than half of TOTO’s profit.
AI investment’s multiplier effect grows over time
The research also shows that the multiplier effect of AI investment has strengthened over time. According to UBS estimates, the effect on total investment of each 1 percentage point increase in AI-related capital spending was 88 basis points in 1980, 106 basis points in 2000, and 146 basis points in June 2026.
Bottom line
The investment effect of the AI boom on the US economy is therefore not limited to technology companies; it also spreads to energy, industry, construction, telecommunications, and other sectors.
