Financing the AI Triad: Compute, Data and Algorithms, a framework to build local ecosystems

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FIG Fellows: Matthew Sharp

Authors: Lucia Velasco, Sumaya Nur Adan, Robert Trager, Muhammad Salar Khan, James Fox, Rodolfo Corona, Fola Adeleke, Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, Luise Eder, Matthew Sharp, Daniela Muhaj, Katrina Kalcic

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a foundational layer of the global economy, with projections indicating that the AI market will reach $4.8 trillion by 2033 – approximately the size of Germany’s entire economy. Yet this transformation is unfolding with stark inequality. While advanced economies aggressively invest in local AI capacity and infrastructure, low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs) face systemic barriers that threaten to lock them into technological dependency. Recent announcements from governments and major technology firms show large AI funding commitments1, but unclear governance and poor coordination risk turning these investments into deeper global AI inequality rather than lasting domestic capacity.