The important qualifier is real investment. This measure is designed to remove the effect of changing equipment prices, so the increase points to more capital being installed rather than merely higher prices. It is “gross” because depreciation—the loss of value as existing equipment ages or becomes obsolete—has not been deducted.
The St. Louis Fed attributes the 2025 jump to businesses rapidly building AI infrastructure, particularly computers and other information-processing equipment. It also says some hardware purchases were brought forward ahead of anticipated tariffs.
This is not a complete tally of AI investment: the series covers ICT equipment, while software, research and development, and data-center buildings fall into other asset categories. What it does show is a sharp expansion of the physical computing base available for AI and other digital activity. That can raise productive capacity, but the record alone cannot tell us whether the projects will earn a return, lift economy-wide productivity or spread benefits beyond the firms making the investments.