Key Takeaways
- Global intangible asset investments reached a record high of over $10 trillion in 2025 across 29 economies.
- The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is identified as a primary catalyst for this significant surge.
- Intangible investment growth has consistently outpaced tangible investments since 2008, signaling a durable structural economic shift.
- The United States leads globally in total intangible investment, while Sweden holds the top spot for intangible intensity relative to GDP.
- Software and databases represent the fastest-growing category within intangible assets, reflecting digital transformation.
Investments in critical intangible assets, encompassing software, data, research and development (R&D), brands, design, and organizational know-how, have soared to an unprecedented global record of over $10 trillion in 2025. This monumental achievement, detailed by the United Nations’ patent and innovation agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), underscores a profound transformation in the global economy, significantly fueled by the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.
The comprehensive study, titled 'World Intangible Investment Highlights 2026' and co-published by WIPO and the Luiss Business School, analyzed 29 economies that collectively represent 57 percent of global GDP. These findings highlight a durable structural shift where intangible assets are increasingly becoming the bedrock of value creation, far surpassing the growth rates of their tangible counterparts.
The Shifting Economic Landscape
Since 2008, intangible investments have demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, expanding by an average of 3.5 percent annually in real terms. This figure starkly contrasts with tangible investments, which saw a modest annual growth of just 0.98 percent over the same period. This divergence illustrates a fundamental reorientation of capital allocation towards knowledge-based assets.
Furthermore, the report indicates that intangible investments proved more robust during recent periods of economic uncertainty, including high interest rates and trade tensions. Between 2020 and 2025, these assets grew by 5.5 percent annually in real terms, significantly outperforming tangible investments, which grew by 3.2 percent. This resilience underscores their strategic importance in navigating dynamic economic environments.
AI's Transformative Impact
Artificial intelligence is playing a pivotal role in this economic metamorphosis. While AI initially necessitates substantial physical investments in data centers, semiconductors, and energy infrastructure, WIPO emphasizes that its most enduring impact stems from driving investments in software, data, R&D, and corporate reorganisation. This shift reflects how AI is fundamentally altering business models and operational efficiencies.
Among all intangible asset categories, investment in software and databases recorded the highest aggregate real growth rate, expanding by an impressive 7.3 percent annually between 2013 and 2023. This growth rate significantly outpaced organizational capital (4.9 percent) and brands (4.4 percent), highlighting the central role of digital infrastructure and data analytics in the modern economy.
Global Leaders and Growth Hotspots
The United States remains the undisputed leader in total intangible investment, reaching nearly $5 trillion in 2025—approximately six times the level of second-placed Japan, with Germany ranking third. However, when measured as a percentage of GDP, Sweden emerges as the most intangible-intensive economy, with intangible investments accounting for 17.4 percent of its GDP in 2025, followed by the United States at 15.6 percent and France at 15.2 percent.
The study also identified India, Japan, and the Philippines as the economies recording the fastest growth in intangible investments. Notably, China, the world's second-largest economy, was not included in this particular study. The report also highlighted the substantial economic importance of brands, with investments across the 29 economies reaching $1.4 trillion in 2025. The US again led global brand investment by a wide margin, exceeding $566 billion in 2025, more than four times the figure for second-placed Britain.
This surge in intangible assets underscores a fundamental re-evaluation of what drives economic value. As global economies continue to digitize and innovate, the protection and strategic development of intellectual property, facilitated by organizations like Geneva-based WIPO, become increasingly crucial for sustained growth and competitiveness.
Why This Matters
This record surge in intangible asset investments signals a profound, long-term shift in global economic drivers, impacting everything from corporate strategy and national competitiveness to future job markets and innovation policy. Understanding this trend is crucial for businesses seeking sustainable growth and for policymakers aiming to foster resilient, knowledge-based economies.