Global Investment in Intangible Assets Surpasses $10 Trillion, Outpacing Tangible Asset Growth

Investment in intangible assets reached a historic milestone in 2025, surpassing the $10 trillion mark globally for the first time. This surge, documented in the third edition of the World Intangible Investment Highlights by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Italy’s Luiss Business School (LBS), underscores a significant shift in economic value from physical to intangible assets such as software, data, brands, and other intellectual property-backed investments.

Between 2020 and 2025, intangible investment grew at an annual rate of 5.5 percent, substantially outpacing tangible investment growth, which stood at 3.2 percent. Intangible assets now represent nearly 13 percent of GDP across the 29 high- and middle-income economies covered by the report, which collectively account for approximately 57 percent of global GDP. The study also includes first-time estimates for Canada and the Philippines, alongside updated data for Brazil, India, and Japan.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang emphasized the importance of this trend, stating, “This record-breaking rise in intangible asset investment clearly shows that global economic value is shifting from physical assets to intangible assets. This cuts across both mature and emerging economies. Countries and businesses are increasingly turning to innovation, technology and creativity to drive growth.” He expressed hope that the report would inform policymakers in crafting supportive policies and programs for innovators and creators.

The United States leads the world in intangible investment, with companies and government entities investing nearly $5 trillion in 2025 alone. This figure represents nearly half of the total global intangible investment and highlights a widening gap: the difference between the US and the next four largest economies combined has doubled from about $1 trillion in 2015 to $2 trillion in 2025.

Japan ranks second globally with $810 billion invested in intangibles in 2024, surpassing Germany’s $695 billion. Japan’s ascent reflects a strategic shift as its tangible investment stagnates while intangible investment grew 4.8 percent in 2024, outpacing other major high-income economies including the US, Germany, and France.

Emerging economies are also showing robust intangible investment growth. India and the Philippines recorded annual growth rates of 5.3 and 3.9 percent respectively over the past decade, exceeding growth in several high-income countries. Brazil is among the world’s largest intangible investors, with $312 billion invested in 2023.

The report highlights the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on investment patterns, identifying two distinct waves of AI-driven investment. The first wave involves tangible infrastructure investments such as data centers, semiconductors, power systems, and networks necessary to support advanced AI models. This infrastructure-driven wave has been stronger than anticipated and is geographically concentrated, particularly in the US, contributing to a revival in tangible investment.

The second wave encompasses broader intangible investments, including data, software, research and development, brands, organizational capital, and workforce training. The report notes that, consistent with previous general-purpose technologies, AI’s enduring economic impact will derive more from these intangible assets than from physical infrastructure.

The US maintains a central role in both AI-related investment waves, combining scale with growth in tangible and intangible assets. US intangible investment in software, data, and organizational capital grew by 4.4 percent in real terms between 2024 and 2025. Although the precise contribution of AI to this increase cannot be isolated, the report discusses multiple channels through which AI influences intangible investment dynamics.

Cecilia Jona-Lasinio, Professor at Luiss Business School and co-author of the report, remarked, “AI is not just a new technology. It is changing how knowledge itself is produced, making intangible investment the key to understanding its economic impact. AI runs on intangibles like data, software and organizational know-how, and it reinforces them: it makes them cheaper to produce, widens the range of activities they can transform, and in doing so encourages firms to invest even more in them.” She further noted that much intangible investment, particularly in organizational capital, brands, and training, remains unrecorded in official statistics, which risks underestimating AI’s true economic contribution and the policies needed to maximize its benefits.

The report is produced under the WIPO–LBS Partnership on Intangible Assets in the Global Economy and is based on the Global INTAN-Invest Database. This database tracks investment across all intangible asset classes, including those not captured in official statistics, providing a comprehensive view of growth drivers in modern economies. It follows the national accounts framework proposed by Corrado, Hulten, and Sichel.

WIPO, as the United Nations agency dedicated to intellectual property, supports innovators and creators worldwide by facilitating IP protection and promoting policies that foster innovation and creativity. The organization’s data and research guide decisionmakers globally, ensuring that intellectual property benefits are accessible everywhere.