I had to actually go to Fort Worth, Texas to get distance from Dallas to see how AI investment is powering through the U.S., Texas and global economy. It was an event held by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, a first in Fort Worth, called the “heart of Texas.”
As data, projects, and charts reveal, since early 2025 to June 30, 2026, AI investment is giving the U.S. outsized growth. However, the wealth affects beyond the U.S. are accruing to other economies. The Iran war and Middle East instability has definitely been a source of harm for all connected to it—really the entire globe.
There is much to unpack in the video and I focus on what I can speak to with the most accuracy.
AI Investment Throughline Crosses Texas
Weekend Read:
This trended all day in AI Tech and Market Outlook, an impossibility during the week…
“Roughing out numbers:
The $20.2 billion spent in data center construction in 2026 in Texas could equate to 1,666 MW of IT capacity, at $12 million/MW for the data center portion of a $50 billion/GW commonly used number.
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A few definitions of R&D and Software categories:
Software (including own-account software)
Hyperscalers building AI platforms in-house: Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta. Software their engineers develop for their own use is own-account software and counts as investment.
Enterprise software vendors adding AI features: Salesforce, ServiceNow, Adobe, Oracle, and Palantir.
AI-native companies: OpenAI and Anthropic. Their model development and tooling can be capitalized software.
R&D
Chip designers: Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom spend heavily on R&D for AI accelerators and networking.
The same hyperscalers and AI labs, for model research that isn’t capitalized as software.
Industrial and energy firms doing AI-related R&D, such as on data center cooling or grid and power systems.