The rise of artificial intelligence has driven major tech companies to elevate their investments in research and development (R&D) to unprecedented levels, resulting in a significant increase in global sector costs. By 2026, leading companies in the sector have already committed over $600 billion to new AI infrastructures, according to recent data. Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, increased its R&D spending by 24% in 2025, reaching $61.087 billion. In the last quarter alone, investment grew by 42%, totaling $18.572 billion. The company's total costs rose by 15% for the year, reaching $273.797 billion, including a $2.1 billion allocation for compensation for employees at Waymo, its autonomous vehicle subsidiary. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, highlighted the launch of Gemini 3, the evolution of its TPUs to compete with Nvidia, and the acquisition of Intersect to strengthen the energy infrastructure of its data centers, along with new AI tools for text and images. Meta also raised its R&D investment by nearly 31% in 2025, reaching $57.372 billion, with over 40% growth in the last quarter. The total costs of the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp increased by 24%, surpassing $117.690 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, emphasized that long-term AI projects are already generating improvements in recommendation systems and will enable new user experiences. Apple, for its part, allocated $10.887 billion to R&D in its first fiscal quarter, 31% more than the previous year. In the fiscal year ending in September, investment exceeded $34.550 billion, a 10% increase. The company recently launched its new generation of iPhones, including the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone Air. Amazon groups its R&D spending within its technology and infrastructure budget, which grew by 22.5% in 2025 to $108.521 billion. These investments range from software and innovative device development to the creation of a satellite network for broadband services and autonomous vehicles, according to its annual report. Microsoft increased its R&D spending by 7.7% in the first half of the fiscal year, reaching $16.650 billion, with $8.504 billion invested between October and December. The rise in operating costs, which increased by 5% in the quarter to $17 billion, is attributed to investments in computing capacity, AI talent, and adjustments in the gaming sector. Nvidia, which will present its annual results in February, increased its R&D investment by 41% in the first nine months of its fiscal year, reaching $12.985 billion. During this period, the company signed agreements with AI start-ups such as Anthropic, Mistral, OpenAI, Reflection, Safe Superintelligence, Thinking Machines Lab, and xAI, Elon Musk's company. Source: elpais.com