Winning the AI race depends on execution, not ambitionAustralia could leverage its strengths to become a digital infrastructure hub powering the Asia Pacific’s AI needs, adding a cumulative $134 billion to the economy by 2050.Paul RehderTechnology leaders are pledging enormous sums to AI infrastructureGift this article4 min read12:00AMMay 19, 2026AI investment is accelerating globally, but not everyone everywhere can share in the pay-off equally. It is the countries that can turn capital and capability into deployed systems over the next 18 months that will win the lion’s share. Australia has the ingredients, but outcomes will depend on execution.Global technology leaders are pledging enormous sums to AI infrastructure, signalling a wave of capital deployment worldwide. Investors are scanning for locations that are energy-secure, home to a skilled workforce, geopolitically stable, cost-competitive and able to move quickly on a policy front. Where that capital ultimately lands will depend less on ambition and more on execution. Success will hinge on co-ordination across industry and government to streamline approvals for data centres and energy connections, faster procurement cycles for critical hardware, and clearer pathways for deploying AI in regulated environments. It will also depend on resolving infrastructure bottlenecks that can delay projects by months or years if left unaddressed.As Deloitte Access Economics forecast in a recent report, Australia could leverage its strengths to become a digital infrastructure hub powering the Asia Pacific’s AI needs, adding a cumulative $134 billion to the economy by 2050 and creating an average of 14,300 additional jobs a year. However, these benefits won’t fall into our lap. Deloitte Access Economics also forecasts that realising this opportunity will require an additional $52bn of private investment by 2030, alongside a doubling of Australia’s projected compute power – all within the next five years. Paul Rehder is Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer and Consulting Managing Partner, Deloitte AustraliaThese pressures of capital intensity, infrastructure scale and execution speed are increasingly shaping how leaders are thinking about AI deployment in practice. This was evident at Deloitte CONNECT 2026, Deloitte’s forum for senior leaders across Australia to come together to discuss the evolving landscape of business and technology.Across the board, panellists emphasised that speed alone will not determine success. It will also depend on trust and collaboration, recognising the outcome AI is intended to unlock and how each organisation contributes value within the wider ecosystem.Building digital infrastructure within a short time frame requires agility and a high level of trust between all stakeholders. Investors, governments and communities need confidence that AI systems will be deployed responsibly and securely in ways that ultimately deliver shared economic value. Countries that can build this trust while moving at speed will have a decisive advantage in attracting capital and scaling capability.As Rianne Van Veldhuizen, vice president & managing director Australia-New Zealand Amazon Web Services (AWS), put it, “Trust is not something you build overnight. Like all personal relationships, it’s something you collaborate on for years.” She expanded on this, adding, “Investments don’t come with just building data centres. It’s collaboration with partners, customers and government to build AI, cloud, and digital capability to position Australia as a global technology leader.”Perhaps paradoxically, building trust in AI can sometimes go beyond talking about the technology itself. Paul Migliorini, vice president, Google Cloud, Australia & New Zealand, observed, “Where we see success is where organisations are focused on the outcome-level benefit and the impact they want to see from AI, as opposed to ticking a technology checkbox.”Building on that outcomes-first lens, Sherif Mansour, head of AI and Product Craft at Atlassian, also noted: “It really comes back to understanding what the unique value is you provide as a business and leaning into that as your primary vector, then working out how you can partner in other areas. We are not in the business of creating AI models. We’re in the business of helping humans collaborate on top of those models. The business context is incredibly important here.”As a centre for AI and data centre investment, Australia has many unique strengths, like ample space for digital infrastructure construction and a skilled workforce. But it can always do more to attract investment. If it doesn’t, Asia Pacific AI capacity will be built elsewhere. Once capital, energy contracts and infrastructure decisions are anchored, they are unlikely to be reversed and the market will move on, whether Australia participates or not.The choice is not between winning big or losing small. It is between becoming a net exporter of AI capability, or a high-cost consumer embedded in someone else’s ecosystem.Winning the AI race will be determined by whether industry leaders can align policy, power, capital and trust – and do it fast enough.Paul Rehder is Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer and Consulting Managing Partner, Deloitte Australia.This article is part two of a three-part series based on Deloitte CONNECT.  -DisclaimerThis publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional adviser.  Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication. About DeloitteDeloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.com/au to learn more.Copyright © 2025 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved. -More CoverageStop training people for yesterday’s jobs: AI demands we redesign workElise SharpleyThe rise of the agentic customer: the trillion-dollar shift defining a new era of competitionBrad MillikenHow will AI change tech, media and telco in the next year? Here’s a guessPeter Corbett and Duncan Stewart