NDTV reported that investor and entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath warned at the NDTV World Summit 2026 that the AI industry may struggle to attract comparable fresh capital each year.
Kamath cited nearly $1 trillion in annual AI investment and estimates of $100 billion to $200 billion in revenue from enterprise use of AI. He put the annual difference at $700 billion to $800 billion. The revenue range he cited was specific to enterprise use.
He said investors from the Middle East and other foreign markets had already put substantial sums into U.S. AI investments. Kamath questioned whether the industry could bring in a similar volume of new money every year, describing the task of finding that amount of fresh capital as difficult.
Kamath said the sector would need someone to bridge the gap between current spending and expected AI revenue, which could reach trillions of dollars if projections become reality. He also laid out a possible economic payoff: if AI disrupted 10% of services, productivity gains could reach $6 trillion to $7 trillion. His scenario assumed a world economy of $100 trillion to $120 trillion, with services accounting for about half to 60% of it. Kamath said he had not yet seen those gains materialize in practice.
Borrowing costs were another concern. Kamath said U.S. Treasury rates could be 5%, 6% or 7% over the coming year. He said rates at those levels could complicate AI companies' efforts to secure funding. He said raising money could become more difficult than it was this year or last year.
Kamath added that those able to raise and retain substantial capital now could be in a better position. The NDTV account identified no specific next decision or indicator tied to his comments.
