AI Moves From Pilots to Core Operations as Firms Race for Compute

Overview

• Independent trackers report mass adoption, with Stanford’s 2026 AI Index estimating generative AI reached about 53% of the global population and most large companies using it in at least one process.
• Companies are turning to GPU as a Service to control costs and speed rollout, and Markets and Markets projects this cloud GPU market to grow from $8.21 billion in 2025 to $26.62 billion by 2030.
• Brazil’s build‑out is quickening as Claro became the first NVIDIA Cloud Partner in Latin America for data processing and AI, a move that enables locally run, Portuguese‑tuned models and governance that meets national rules.
• Energy needs are rising fast as the IEA estimates data centers used about 485 TWh in 2025 and AI workloads grew sharply, raising concerns over electricity, water for cooling, and scarce materials for advanced chips.
• Policy and legal pressure is mounting as Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI challenges the group’s structure and China blocked Meta’s bid for AI startup Manus, moves that could reshape who controls talent, data and critical compute.