PwC’s 2025 Global Investor Survey reveals a strong backing for tech investments, with an emphasis on transparency, governance, and resilience in AI adoption amidst global economic concerns.
LONDON , Investors are overwhelmingly backing technology as the primary engine of future returns, but they are demanding clearer governance and disclosure on how companies deploy artificial intelligence, according to PwC’s 2025 Global Investor Survey published on 8 December 2025. The survey of 1,074 investment professionals across 26 countries, conducted between 1 September and 6 October 2025, found 61% expect technology to attract the most investment over the next three years and 92% want companies to increase capital allocation to technological transformation, with 88% singling out cybersecurity.
Investors report seeing tangible benefits from AI adoption in their portfolios: 86% noted productivity gains, 71% cited improvements in profitability and 66% saw revenue increases. More than three-quarters (78%) said they would at least moderately increase holdings in companies pursuing enterprise-wide AI transformation. Yet less than two-fifths (37%) believe companies currently disclose enough about AI strategies and policies, and sizeable shares want greater disclosure on AI investments (42%), returns (42%) and innovation strategy (47%).
Kazi Islam, Global Assurance Strategy and Growth Leader at PwC US, told reporters: “Investors are beginning to see tangible evidence of operational and financial gains from AI. While investors understand AI returns require upfront capital, they expect discipline: decision-useful metrics, credible governance, and evidence that AI reshapes cost curves, productivity, and revenue safely and repeatably.” Nadja Picard, PwC Germany’s Global Reporting Leader, added that investors want “technology transformation [to be] the highway for growth, but resilience and transparency [to be] the guardrails.”
The survey’s enthusiasm for tech sits alongside broader caution about global growth: only 28% expect moderate to significant improvement in world growth over the next year. Regionally, investors still favour the United States as the top destination for capital (67% over the next three years), followed by India (45%) and the Chinese mainland (32%). Investors also flagged elevated exposure to cyber risk (55%) and technological disruption (53%), alongside concerns about inflation, macro volatility and geopolitical conflict.
The PwC findings align with other recent industry signals that underline both the scale of tech investment and the execution risks. Banking and market commentary at the Reuters NEXT conference in early December showed major tech firms preparing to raise significant debt to fund AI infrastructure and M&A , Barclays executives suggested the top five US tech companies could require near $100 billion of funding next year to build AI-ready data centres and pursue deals. At the same time, research from Gartner warns that only a small fraction of firms in capital-intensive sectors may sustain heavy AI investment without deep software capabilities and structural change, projecting that most automakers, for example, will struggle to maintain current AI investment momentum through the remainder of the decade.
The race for data-centre capacity further illustrates the scale and trade-offs of tech-led growth. India, which has about 20% of global data but only roughly 6% of global data-centre capacity, has seen plans for roughly $100 billion of investment in hyperscale facilities; that buildout raises resource and sustainability challenges, notably constraints on power and water in key hubs. Meanwhile, demand for grid and transmission equipment in the US , driven by renewables, data centres and EV infrastructure , has prompted more than $1 billion in factory projects from manufacturers seeking to ease long lead times on transformers and other critical kit.
Investors say resilience measures matter alongside growth ambitions: 88% support higher spending on cybersecurity, 73% on business-model agility, and large majorities want firms to maintain or increase investment in climate adaptation. Roughly three-quarters (74%) expect companies that cross traditional sector boundaries to achieve stronger growth, while 65% see higher disruption risk for firms that do not.
According to the PwC release, the overarching message from investors is that technology remains the principal route to growth, but that the market will reward companies that can demonstrate disciplined capital deployment, rigorous governance and clear, decision-useful disclosure about AI and resilience strategies. Financial-market commentators have also signalled rising capital needs and the potential for sectoral winners and losers: some banks and analysts now expect supportive fiscal and monetary conditions to lift equities in certain regions, even as they flag valuation and execution risks in tech.
Industry data and the PwC survey together suggest investors will continue to pour capital into technology and related infrastructure , from data centres to the power grid , but they will do so with closer scrutiny of governance, measurable outcomes and resource and sustainability trade-offs.
- https://pressreleasehub.pa.media/article/investors-overwhelmingly-look-to-technology-sector-to-fuel-growth–but-expect-greater-transparency-on-ai-strategies-and-policies-pwc-2025-global-investor-survey-61765.html – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2025/pwc-2025-global-investor-survey.html – PwC’s 2025 Global Investor Survey reveals that 61% of investors anticipate the technology sector will attract the most investment over the next three years, surpassing other sectors. Additionally, 92% of investors are urging companies to increase capital allocation towards technological transformation, with 88% emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity. The survey also highlights that 74% of investors expect higher growth from companies that pursue opportunities across traditional sector boundaries. Despite this optimism, there is a call for greater transparency in AI strategies and policies, as only 37% of investors believe companies disclose sufficient information in this area.
- https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/only-few-automakers-keep-up-ai-push-gartner-says-2025-12-08/ – A recent Gartner study predicts that by 2029, only about 5% of automakers will sustain strong growth in artificial intelligence (AI) investment, a sharp decline from over 95% currently. This projection questions the long-term benefits of the industry’s current enthusiasm for AI. According to the report, only companies with robust software capabilities, forward-thinking leadership, and a long-term commitment to AI are expected to thrive. Legacy manufacturers like Volkswagen face challenges in competing with tech-driven automakers like Tesla and BYD, due to cultural and structural limitations. Gartner analyst Pedro Pacheco emphasized that success in AI requires automakers to transform into digital-first organizations, remove internal hurdles, and elevate software leadership to top executive levels. Companies that fail to develop strong software competencies are projected to face significant difficulties in the evolving auto landscape.
- https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/barclays-exec-says-top-five-tech-firms-could-need-100-bln-funding-next-year-2025-12-03/ – Major technology firms are expected to significantly increase their debt issuance in 2026 to finance growing investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), according to bank executives at the Reuters NEXT conference. Meghan Graper of Barclays estimated that the top five U.S. tech companies may need nearly $100 billion in funding, driven largely by the race to build advanced AI-ready data centers. Traditionally reliant on cash, these companies are now turning to the debt market, with nearly $90 billion in public bond issuance since September from major cloud-computing firms. Additionally, a growing M&A deal backlog is expected to further boost corporate financing. Currently, $175 billion in announced M&A deals await funding—more than double that of the previous year. Morgan Stanley’s Anish Shah noted increased interest from private equity firms due to a revived IPO market. Executives downplayed systemic risk, citing strong and diverse cash flows backing the corporate debt, primarily secured by tangible assets such as data centers in development. Overall, 2026 is projected to see a surge in investment-grade corporate debt driven by technological expansion and consolidation.
- https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-file-100-billion-data-centre-boom-tests-resource-limits-2025-12-03/ – India is witnessing a massive $100 billion data centre investment boom, fueled by growing data consumption in the country. Major conglomerates like Reliance Industries, Adani Group, and the Tata Group are investing heavily in AI data centre infrastructure, particularly in Andhra Pradesh. The projects plan to add gigawatt-scale capacity to India’s relatively underdeveloped data centre landscape. Despite having 20% of global data, the country has only about 6% of global data centre capacity. However, this surge in investment faces serious challenges due to limited resources. Power and water supply shortages in key hubs such as Mumbai and Chennai—already resource-stressed—are potential risks. Data centres are highly resource-dependent, with electric demand expected to rise sharply and water consumption for cooling projected to be substantial. There are concerns about sustainability, with previous large infrastructure projects having failed due to similar resource constraints. Meanwhile, India’s economy posted stronger-than-expected GDP growth of 8.2% in Q3, driven by exports and private spending. This has complicated monetary policy decisions, with the central bank now reassessing the need for interest rate cuts despite low inflation. Additionally, government efforts to mandate cybersecurity apps on smartphones have raised privacy concerns.
- https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/grid-equipment-makers-invest-us-ease-supply-shortage–reeii-2025-12-02/ – Surging U.S. demand for power transmission equipment, driven by renewable energy, data centers, and EV infrastructure, has led to significant investments in domestic manufacturing. Hitachi Energy announced over $1 billion in factory projects across several states, including a $457 million transformer plant in Boston and expansions in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Other major players—Siemens, GE Vernova, Hyosung HICO, and WEG—are also investing heavily in U.S.-based production facilities. Demand for critical components like transformers and high-voltage equipment has surged, with generation step-up transformers (GSUs) demand increasing by 274% between 2019 and 2025. The U.S., the world’s top importer of transformers, faces long lead times and high prices due to manufacturing shortages. For instance, average delivery times for GSUs reached 143 weeks in Q2 2025. Investments are expected to significantly shrink the supply gap by 2030. However, policies under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act could reduce clean energy demand, introducing some risks. Despite potential regulatory uncertainty, firms like KKR see major opportunities in grid expansion and strengthening, although rising costs and supply delays could hinder project execution.
- https://www.reuters.com/business/citigroup-sets-2026-end-stoxx-600-target-640-fiscal-tailwinds-2025-12-05/ – Citigroup has set its year-end 2026 target for the STOXX 600 index at 640, projecting a 10.5% increase from its last close, driven by fiscal spending and supportive monetary policy. The index has already climbed 14% in 2025, aided by Germany’s fiscal expansion and European Central Bank rate cuts, though it still lags behind the S&P 500’s 16.6% rise. Citigroup maintains a positive outlook on European equities, pointing to anticipated earnings-per-share (EPS) growth of over 8% in 2026, following a flat year due to tariffs and forex issues, which are expected to ease. The brokerage favors cyclical sectors such as banks, travel and leisure, basic resources, and industrials. It has upgraded basic resources and industrials to ‘overweight’ and downgraded the European tech sector to ‘neutral’ due to valuation concerns.
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emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
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Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative is based on PwC’s 2025 Global Investor Survey, published on 8 December 2025. ([pwc.com](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2025/pwc-2025-global-investor-survey.html?utm_source=openai)) This is the earliest known publication date for this content, indicating high freshness. ([pwc.com](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2025/pwc-2025-global-investor-survey.html?utm_source=openai))
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
The quotes from Kazi Islam and Nadja Picard are unique to this survey and do not appear in earlier materials, suggesting originality. ([pwc.com](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2025/pwc-2025-global-investor-survey.html?utm_source=openai))
Source reliability
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative originates from PwC, a reputable organisation known for its comprehensive surveys and analyses, lending credibility to the report. ([pwc.com](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2025/pwc-2025-global-investor-survey.html?utm_source=openai))
Plausability check
Score:
10
Notes:
The claims about investors’ expectations for technology investments and AI transparency are consistent with current industry trends and are supported by PwC’s findings. ([pwc.com](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2025/pwc-2025-global-investor-survey.html?utm_source=openai))
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is fresh, original, and originates from a reputable source. The claims are plausible and supported by the latest survey findings, indicating a high level of credibility.