US AI Buildout to Cost $10+ Trillion With Systemic Risks

Columbia Business School professor Steijn Van Nieuwenhuyzen estimated in a Brookings conference report that US AI infrastructure construction through 2032 will exceed $10 trillion (about 3.6% of GDP annually) and compared the transparency of financing through banks, private credit, and SPVs to the 2007–2009 subprime crisis.

Compiled by Sergey KostenchukPublished 2026-09-28Updated 2026-09-28

2026-09-28 Business OpenAI

💼 US AI Buildout to Cost $10+ Trillion With Financial Risks

Columbia Business School professor Steijn Van Nieuwenhuyzen in a report for Brookings: US AI infrastructure through 2032 will require more than $10 trillion, or about 3.6% of GDP annually.

🌍 Financing has moved away from the cash of Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet to schemes with banks, private credit, and SPVs — the author compared transparency to the 2007–2009 subprime crisis. If returns are revised, the entire financial system will be affected.

👤 To recoup investments, AI revenue must grow from ~$100 billion to ~$3.7 trillion annually — approximately 80% annually. Keep this arithmetic in mind when evaluating statements from OpenAI and Anthropic.

Source 1: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/financing-historic-ai-buildout-raises-systemic-risks-us-researcher-says-2026-09-24/

Source 2: https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2026/09/24/financing-of-historic-ai-buildout-raises-systemic-risks-in-us-researcher-says

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