Investments rise in data and AI, outpacing physical assets: UN

The purchase of physical assets was eclipsed last year by a surge in investment in intangible items like software, data and AI, the UN said on Wednesday, describing a “fundamental shift in how economies grow and compete”. Investment in intellectual property-backed assets grew three times faster in 2024 than investments in physical objects like machinery and buildings, which have been hit by high interest rates and a subdued economic recovery, the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) said in a fresh report. The report, which was co-published with Italy’s Luiss Business School, showed that intangible investment across 27 high- and middle-income economies grew about three percent in real terms last year, reaching $7.6 trillion, up from $7.4 trillion a year earlier. “We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how economies grow and compete,” WIPO chief Daren Tang said in a statement.