A groundbreaking report released by the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute and Accenture has revealed that the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI) growth and investment is set to flow toward the Global South, unlocking an estimated $10.3 trillion in additional economic value by 2038.
The report, titled “Rebalancing Intelligence: How the Next Wave of AI Investment is Set to Flow South,” highlights the massive yet underexplored potential of AI ecosystems across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Developing Asia-Pacific (APAC).
According to the research, AI startups in the Global North attracted $108.3 billion in deal value over the past three years, while those in the Global South received only $12.1 billion. Despite this imbalance, momentum is shifting—87% of global investors surveyed plan to increase their AI investments in the Global South within the next two years.
Okay News reports that the study identifies India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East as the fastest-growing AI markets, driven by national strategies, sovereign wealth funding, and growing private sector involvement.
“The global AI revolution will not be built solely in Silicon Valley, London, or Berlin,” said Ramez T. Shehadi, Global Public Sector Strategy Lead at Accenture. “AI is now building entirely new systems across the Global South—transforming healthcare, agriculture, and finance, and laying the foundations for inclusive innovation.”
The report notes that the Global South hosts over 23,000 AI startups, yet only eight have achieved unicorn status compared to 305 in the Global North. It attributes this disparity to funding gaps, infrastructure limitations, and perceived investment risks, but stresses that emerging policies and partnerships are rapidly reversing the trend.
In the Middle East, for example, Saudi Arabia’s $100 billion Alat fund and the UAE’s MGX initiative are expanding local compute capacity and startup funding. In Africa, Nigeria’s National AI Strategy 2024 and Kenya’s AI labs are nurturing talent and driving responsible innovation. Meanwhile, India’s $1.2 billion IndiaAI Mission is positioning the country as a global AI hub with over 13 million developers.
FII Institute’s Acting CEO, Richard Attias, emphasized that AI’s growth in the Global South presents not just an economic opportunity, but a moral one. “Harnessing AI’s potential is more than a strategic imperative—it’s a chance to unlock new value, build resilient economies, and shape a future where innovation serves humanity.”
The report concludes with a five-step “blueprint for change” for global investors: build long-term talent pipelines, strengthen local partnerships, explore new AI sectors, align with national strategies, and adapt investment models to local realities.
With half of the world’s population and a quarter of global economic growth projected to come from the Global South by 2030, the FII–Accenture research positions emerging economies as the new epicenter of AI innovation.
