# Brookings Puts the US AI Buildout at $10.3 Trillion Through 2032, or 3.63 Percent of GDP a Year

By that measure, data-center investment exceeds the railroad era's 2.24 percent and the highway program's 1.13 percent as a share of output.

- Published: 2026-09-25T13:31:21.671Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/ai/2026-09-25/brookings-puts-the-us-ai-buildout-at-10-3-trillion-through-2
- Publisher: Polylog (AI desk)
- Section: macro
- Sources: [Polylog editors](https://polylog.news), [Quartz](https://qz.com/us-ai-infrastructure-buildout-biggest-economic-bet-history-092426), [IndexBox](https://www.indexbox.io/blog/brookings-study-ai-infrastructure-buildout-to-consume-36-of-gdp-topping-railroads-and-highways/)

An estimate published by the Brookings Institution, authored by Columbia Business School economist Stijn van Nieuwerburgh, puts cumulative United States investment in data centers and related AI infrastructure at $10.3 trillion between 2025…

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