Our Scans · (LF.9) 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] Vanuatu has established important digital foundations, including the National ID system, Microsoft 365, cybersecurity capabilities, connectivity infrastructure and emerging digital innovation opportunities. Abt Global
• [New] Blockbuster results from Microsoft Corp. helped lift investor expectations that the buildout of AI infrastructure and related productivity gains will keep pushing stocks higher. financialpost
• [New] Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) builds on 25% growth in 2025, with a predicted 29.3% bump to $287 billion in 2026. IT Pro
• [New] Gartner has revised its IT spending forecast upwards due to an expected surge in AI-related infrastructure investment. IT Pro
• [New] Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta are expected to spend more than $700bn on AI infrastructure in 2026, while Britain is competing to attract new data centers and computing capacity. City AM
• [New] Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle are projected to spend $750 billion in 2026 on data centers, chips and other A.I. infrastructure, up from roughly $400 billion last year. / USA The New York Times
• [New] By 2029, A.I. infrastructure investment is forecast to top $1 trillion globally, up from $318 billion last year. The New York Times
• [New] Greater access to scalable AI infrastructure will intensify competition and foster wider commercialization of enterprise AI agents globally. MarkNtel Advisors
• [New] SLB and Liberty Energy Inc. announced an agreement to form a strategic alliance that will deliver modular infrastructure and integrated power generation solutions for new data center projects globally. SLB
• [New] Europe alone requires €12 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2040. Default
• [New] PwC research shows that more and more industrial manufacturers expect growth to come from new activities beyond their historical core; fully 44% of total revenue is projected to come from outside the manufacturing of industrial and consumer products by 2030. PwC
• [New] Manufacturers expect levels of tech enablement and automation to more than double by 2030, even as blind spots in skills, data infrastructure, and other areas threaten progress. PwC
• [New] PNNL grid experts will develop and evaluate advanced AI systems in collaboration with AWS and test different scenarios in PNNL's Electricity Infrastructure Operating Center with a secure, operations-grade hybrid-cloud Amazon environment. AZOM
• [New] The global pharmaceutical industry is expected to grow from approximately USD 1,627.73 billion in 2025 to USD 1,722.05 billion in 2026, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 5.8%. store.frost.com
• [New] The coming years will determine whether Almaty can translate infrastructure investment into genuine hub status. The Astana Times
• [New] The GCC's AI strategy calls for heavy investment in digital infrastructure, and the UK-GCC FTA is creating new opportunities to capitalize on it. City AM
• The NCSC and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are leading the blueprint for Cyber Shield, which aims to use frontier AI to identify, reduce, and resolve national cyber risks at machine speed. UKAuthority
• The space economy is projected to triple to USD 1.8 trillion over the next decade, driven by growing commercial use of satellite infrastructure and emerging opportunities in space-based data centers as an alternative to earth-based AI infrastructure. investing.com
• Expanding AI Factory Capacity to Fuel AI Innovators The 200-megawatt AI factory is expected to feature advanced NVIDIA AI infrastructure including the NVIDIA Vera Rubin and NVIDIA Blackwell platforms. GlobeNewswire
• Asia will require US$ 26 trillion in infrastructure investment through 2030, a significant portion of which encompasses logistics and transportation, creating a favorable operating environment for 3 PL expansion. Persistence Market Research
• The federal government rolled out special subsidies for polysilicon and wafer factories in 2026, offering $3 per kilogram of domestic polysilicon output, targeting a complete silicon-based upstream industrial chain by 2030. Solar Panel Production Equipment and Machinery-Lithium
• Growing orbital congestion is increasing collision risks, transforming weather and Earth observation satellites into critical infrastructure that requires robust legal protection. Bird & Bird
• Fastest-growing Region: Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing, driven by expanding healthcare infrastructure, rising surgical volumes, broader insurance coverage, and increasing chronic disease-related wound care demand. Persistence Market Research

Last updated: 03 August 2026