AI’s $1.5T Question - David Cahn's Substack
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Updated math for H2 2026, reflecting H1 CapEx re-acceleration and $3T cumulative revenue requirement since ChatGPT launch
AI’s $1.5T Question Updated math for H2 2026, reflecting H1 CapEx re-acceleration and $3T cumulative revenue requirement since ChatGPT launch David Cahn Jul 08, 2026 7 1 Share This is a repetitive blog post and so I will keep it brief. A lot of people have reached out to me for the updated math behind AI’s $600B question. It is now AI’s $1.5T question. I have been tracking AI data center spending as compared with total ecosystem revenue for almost 3 years now. The rough trajectory has been as follows: September 2023 : AI’s $200B question June 2024 : AI’s $600B question June 2025 : AI’s $840B q
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