AI boom lifts intangible investment to record, UN says

The artificial intelligence boom has propelled investments in intangible assets such as software, data, and research to an unprecedented $10 trillion in 2025, according to a report by the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). These investments, encompassing research and development, brands, design, and organizational know-how, now represent a substantial and expanding segment of the global economy.

Across 29 studied economies, which collectively account for 57% of global GDP, intangible investment reached its all-time high. WIPO, in collaboration with Luiss Business School, published the findings in the World Intangible Investment Highlights 2026. Since 2008, intangible investments have seen a real annual growth rate of 3.5%, significantly outpacing tangible investments, which grew at a mere 0.98% annually over the same period. This trend signifies a "durable structural shift" in investment composition, with intangibles increasingly driving value creation.

The United States dominates intangible investment, reaching nearly $5 trillion in 2025, approximately six times the amount invested in Japan, which ranks second. Germany follows in third place. Sweden continues to lead as the most intangible-intensive economy, with such investments making up 17.4% of its GDP in 2025, followed by the U.S. at 15.6% and France at 15.2%. India, Japan, and the Philippines recorded the fastest growth rates in this sector.

Intangible investments demonstrated greater resilience than tangible assets amidst recent economic challenges, including high interest rates, trade tensions, and slowdowns. Between 2020 and 2025, they grew by 5.5% annually in real terms, compared to 3.2% for tangible investments. AI is identified as a primary catalyst for this transformation. While AI initially spurs physical investments in data centers and semiconductors, WIPO emphasizes its more profound, lasting impact stems from investments in software, data, R&D, and corporate reorganization. Investment in software and databases, in particular, showed the highest aggregate real growth rate at 7.3% annually between 2013 and 2023.

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These figures point to a durable structural shift in the composition of investment, with intangible assets playing a growing role in value creation.