AI Boosts Global Growth

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revised upwards its global growth projections for the 2026 fiscal year, setting them at 2.9%.

September 24, 2026  |  3 min read

Infrastructure Investment and Structural Challenges

This adjustment is primarily a response to the acceleration of private investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure, which is establishing itself as the main driver of gross fixed capital formation in advanced economies. The current deployment goes beyond software development and translates into the massive construction of data centers and next-generation connectivity networks.

The organization emphasizes that this trend offsets the weakness observed in traditional industrial sectors affected by the tightening of financial conditions in previous years. However, the report identifies two vulnerability factors that could jeopardize this expansion. On one hand, the pressure on national power systems due to the intensive consumption of the new digital infrastructure. On the other hand, persistent geopolitical instability, which fragments markets for critical components and raises logistics costs on key trade routes.

Energy Strategy and Industrial Competitiveness

The increase in OECD forecasts confirms that AI has moved from being a technological trend to a systemic macroeconomic pillar. This scenario opens a direct window of opportunity for Spanish infrastructure and energy companies. The deployment of data processing centers requires power generation and transmission capacity that favors national energy companies, leaders in decarbonized solutions. The demand for stable, renewable energy makes electrical infrastructure a strategic asset for attracting technological investment to the peninsula.

However, the CEO of any exporting firm must monitor the impact of this trend on operating costs. The rise of AI creates direct competition for available electricity supply, pushing energy prices upward and potentially reducing the competitiveness of the Spanish energy-intensive industry. The OECD’s warning about geopolitical instability also adds a risk of disruption to the semiconductor value chain, which is essential for the digitalization plans of IBEX 35 companies.

Resilience and Risk Management

Corporate resilience will depend on the ability to integrate these technologies as optimization tools and, simultaneously, secure long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). The growth gap will widen between organizations that secure their energy autonomy and those that remain exposed to the fluctuations of a global market shaped by intensive computing. The window of opportunity exists, but it demands rigorous management of supply risks and capital planning oriented toward operational efficiency.