Global Investment Shifts Toward Intangibles Like Software, Data, and AI: UN Report

Geneva: Global economies are undergoing a major transformation in investment trends, with intangible assets like software, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) now outpacing traditional physical investments, according to a new report released Wednesday by the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The report, co-authored with Italy’s Luiss Business School, reveals that investment in intellectual property-backed assets grew three times faster in 2024 than in tangible assets such as machinery and buildings, which were hit hard by high interest rates and a sluggish economic recovery.

Intangible investment across 27 high- and middle-income countries reached $7.6 trillion last year, up from $7.4 trillion in 2023—a real-term growth of around 3 percent.

“We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how economies grow and compete,” said WIPO Director General Daren Tang. “While businesses have slowed down investing in factories and equipment during uncertain times, they’re doubling down on intangible assets. This trend has profound implications for policymakers.”

Tang emphasized that countries fostering intangible investment will be better equipped to thrive in a global economy driven by technological, digital, and cultural innovation.

The United States led the world in overall intangible asset investment in 2024, investing nearly twice as much as France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Sweden ranked as the most intangible-asset-intensive economy, with such investments comprising 16% of its GDP, followed closely by the United States, France, and Finland, each at 15%.

India also stood out, with an intangible investment intensity of nearly 10% of GDP, surpassing several European nations and even Japan.

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According to WIPO, intangible assets have shown strong resilience during economic crises, with average annual growth of 4 percent between 2008 and 2024—compared to just 1 percent growth for physical assets.

Among intangible categories, software and databases saw the fastest growth, expanding over 7 percent annually between 2013 and 2022. This surge is closely tied to the global AI boom, which has not only driven hardware investment in chips and servers but also spurred spending on data sets needed to train AI models.

“People think we are already in the middle of the AI boom,” said Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, head of WIPO’s economics and data analytics department, “but we are actually just at the beginning.”