Global Scans · Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

• [New] Economic value will increasingly flow through all levels of the global AI supply chain, driving historic opportunity and demand for energy, critical minerals, semiconductors, manufacturing, technological hardware, infrastructure, and new markets not yet invented. United States Department of State
• [New] China's major internet platforms are sharply increasing investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, fueling expectations that domestic semiconductor and optical module suppliers will be key beneficiaries. Balfour Capital Group
• [New] Amazon announced plans to invest $35 billion in India by 2030, with stated goals including expansion of AI capabilities, boosting exports, expanding logistics infrastructure, and creating jobs. News, Events, Advertising Options
• [New] In 2026, AI will become fully integrated into cloud infrastructure. Digital IT News
• [New] SNS Telecom forecasts global spending on private 4G & 5G networks will exceed $7.2 billion by 2028, driven by industrial IoT and enterprise digital transformation. The Silicon Review
• [New] By 2030, Australia will need 85,000 additional workers to build and operate renewable energy infrastructure. Airswift
• [New] A landmark clean-energy project advances at the Kruger Kamloops Pulp Mill, where an Indigenous-led partnership plans to build one of British Columbia's first industrial-scale green hydrogen plants. Paper Advance
• [New] The low-carbon transition could create 375 million jobs over the next decade, spanning renewable energy, resilient infrastructure, and nature-based solutions. We Mean Business Coalition
• [New] If we do not provide a euro-anchored wholesale solution and a European infrastructure for the settlement of digital assets, Europe could find itself importing technology, standards, governance choices and ultimately strategic dependencies. European Central Bank
• [New] Investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts that Europe will need to invest up to €3 trillion in power generation and infrastructure over the next decade, double what it spent in the prior decade. Energy Musings
• [New] Supply chain and third-party risk transparency becomes nonnegotiable, driven by Europe's DORA, the SEC's cybersecurity disclosure rules, and expanding critical infrastructure mandates globally. SecureWorld
• [New] 2026 will be the year that reasoning AI transforms traditional security infrastructure, ushering in an era of incident prevention versus incident response. SecureWorld
• [New] Strategic alliances like the $42 B U.S.-UK Technology Prosperity Deal and Quantum First goals by 2030 reinforce national security-driven innovation. Ainvest
• [New] The $500 billion Stargate project in the U.S. is one piece of what is projected to be a multitrillion-dollar global buildout of computing infrastructure in the next few years. Circle of Blue
• [New] Service provider spending on datacenter infrastructure - including servers, storage, and network equipment - is projected to surge 86% in 2025, approaching $500 billion. Techstrong IT
• [New] As industrial production improves into 2026 and supply chains stabilize, we expect automation to remain a strategic priority for manufacturers looking to compete, build resilience, and address persistent workforce pressures. Assembly
• [New] The next five years will bring transformative changes in drone technology driven by advances in AI, battery innovation, swarm capabilities, and payload versatility. Tech Times
• [New] Robotaxis are a trillion-dollar-plus industry and Asia has major potential. AOL
• [New] Samsung will kick start 2026 with the Galaxy Z Trifold, introducing tri-fold innovation to mainstream global consumers, building off the momentum of the successful Galaxy Z Fold7 in 2025. The Hindu
• [New] The primary artificial intelligence hyperscalers - Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle - are projected to spend $520 billion to build out AI infrastructure in 2026, potentially 30% above 2025 levels. The Plan Advocate
• [New] Global spending on AI infrastructure will exceed 2.8 trillion dollars by 2029, aligning with NVIDIA's forecast of 3-4 trillion by 2030. The Cryptonomist

Last updated: 14 December 2025