IDC Forecasts Global Active AI Agents to Surge to 2.216 Billion by 2030
At the AICC 2026 conference in Beijing, IDC and Inspur Information released a report forecasting global active AI agents will grow from 79.4 million in 2026 to 2.216 billion by 2030, a CAGR of 129.8%. Token consumption is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4,822.6%. China's intelligent computing power is forecast to reach 2,576.5 EFLOPS in 2026, up 87.9% year-on-year. Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen topped China's AI city rankings. Industry leaders discussed structural challenges in computing power, including weak foundational capabilities and fragmented ecosystems.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page reads the event directly, while its address stays stable when the title changes.
- Summary covers the current reports
Cross-source coverage
Reporting timeline
AI Agents Accelerate Deployment, Computing Power Industry Seeks Breakthroughs at AICC2026
At the 2026 Artificial Intelligence Computing Conference (AICC2026) in Beijing, industry leaders discussed challenges and solutions for the AI computing power sector amid the rapid adoption of AI agents. Jin Lei from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology noted agents are entering production and research. AICC founder Wang Endong identified three structural issues: weak foundational capabilities, insufficient vertical coordination, and fragmented horizontal ecosystems. He called for technological innovation, system-level optimization driven by real applications, and open innovation to leverage diverse computing power. Tongji University's Zheng Qinghua highlighted the need for machine intelligence to move beyond scale to achieve sustainable learning and reasoning. Tsinghua's Wu Huaqiang advocated for new chip architectures like memristor-based in-memory computing. IDC and Inspur released a report forecasting global active AI agents will grow from 79.4 million in 2026 to 2.216 billion by 2030, a CAGR of 129.8%, while token consumption grows at a CAGR of 4,822.6%. China's agent CAGR is 151.2% with token growth at 3,499.3%. The 2026 AI city rankings placed Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen as top three.
Read sourceReport: Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen Top China's AI Computing Power City Rankings
A report titled '2026 China AI Computing Power Development Assessment Report,' released in Beijing on September 21 by IDC and Inspur Information at the AICC 2026 conference, ranks Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen as the top three cities in China for AI computing power. Beijing leads due to its complete computing supply chain and strong AI application enterprises. Hangzhou ranks second, leveraging its AI innovation clusters and internet industry base, with continued development in large models and embodied intelligence. Shenzhen, a key base for AI server and chip manufacturing, ranks third by capitalizing on the agent boom. The report states that AI agents are reshaping computing infrastructure, driving token consumption growth and elevating computing power to a national strategic infrastructure level. It forecasts China's intelligent computing power will reach 2576.5 EFLOPS in 2026 (up 87.9% year-on-year) and 10524.3 EFLOPS by 2030. The AI computing market is expected to reach $51.5 billion in 2026 and $150.1 billion by 2030. The report emphasizes a shift from scale expansion to system efficiency competition in the AI infrastructure landscape.
Read sourceChina's Smart Computing Power Scale Forecast to Grow 87.9% in 2026, IDC and Inspur Report Says
A report jointly released by International Data Corporation (IDC) and Inspur Information forecasts that China's smart computing power scale will reach 2576.5 EFLOPS in 2026, representing a year-on-year growth of 87.9%. The report, titled '2026 China Artificial Intelligence Computing Power Development Assessment Report,' analyzes the computing power transformation driven by the scaling of intelligent agents. It states that intelligent agents are reshaping AI computing infrastructure, creating a multiplier effect that drives a surge in token consumption and significantly raises the growth curve for China's smart computing capacity. The report also introduces a new evaluation system that covers the entire AI chain—from chips and systems to models, data, and applications—assessing reliability, security, and stability to provide verifiable benchmarks for industry selection, technology evolution, and application deployment.
Read sourceShow 2 older updatesHide older updates
Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen top China's AI computing power city ranking in 2026 report
A report titled '2026 China Artificial Intelligence Computing Power Development Assessment Report,' released in Beijing on September 21 by IDC and Inspur Information, ranks China's top AI computing power cities. Beijing ranks first due to its complete computing supply chain and strong AI model and application enterprises. Hangzhou is second, leveraging its AI innovation clusters and internet industry foundation, with continued development in large models and embodied intelligence. Shenzhen ranks third as a key base for AI server and computing chip manufacturing, capitalizing on the agent boom. The report states that AI agents are reshaping computing infrastructure, driving token consumption growth and elevating computing power to a national strategic infrastructure level. It forecasts China's intelligent computing power to reach 2576.5 EFLOPS in 2026, up 87.9% year-on-year, and 10524.3 EFLOPS by 2030. The AI computing market is expected to reach $51.5 billion in 2026 and $150.1 billion by 2030. The report emphasizes a shift from scale expansion to system efficiency competition in the AI infrastructure sector.
Read sourceReport: Global Active AI Agents to Reach 2.216 Billion by 2030, IDC Forecasts
A report released at the AICC 2026 Artificial Intelligence Computing Conference in Beijing, jointly published by IDC and Inspur Information, forecasts that the number of active AI agents globally will grow from 79.4 million in 2026 to 2.216 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 129.8%. The report, titled '2026 China AI Computing Development Assessment,' is the first industry study focused on agent infrastructure. IDC Vice President Zhou Zhengang stated that agents are reshaping computing infrastructure, driving a multiplier effect on token consumption. Token consumption growth is projected to outpace agent growth by 37 times, with a 2026-2030 compound growth rate of 4,822.6%. China's active agent count is expected to grow at 151.2% CAGR, with token consumption rising 3,499.3% CAGR over the same period. China's AI computing power market is forecast to reach $51.5 billion in 2026 and $150.1 billion by 2030. The report also notes a widening global AI compute supply-demand gap, with demand satisfaction expected to fall from 79% in 2024 to 71% in 2027, recovering only to 77% by 2030. Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen top China's AI city rankings.
Read source