Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft’s AI capex is set to hit $750bn in 2024, testing the limits of Big Tech spending

Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft are expected to spend $750bn on AI-related capital expenditure in 2024, far above their historical levels, but the pace may be hard to sustain. Chip supply, and constraints on power and water infrastructure, are emerging as practical limits, while many AI projects remain far from profitable. Alphabet has raised $85bn in debt over the past year and plans to raise another $80bn in equity, and Amazon has shortened the depreciation life of its data-centre assets to five years. Depreciation across the four companies has nearly doubled over two years to $116bn, a sign that profits could face increasing pressure.