The most advanced 1% of companies were spending around $90,000 per year on AI per employee in May 2026, with a 14.1% monthly growth rate. This spending could surpass the average $192,000 annual salary of a software engineer by the end of 2026. Companies heavily investing in AI added 10.2% more employees over a 24-month period, indicating AI acts as a growth enabler rather than a cost-cutting tool for labor.
AI is driving significant enterprise spending and job creation, shifting the narrative from labor replacement to growth enablement for top adopters.