JPMorgan expects to spend $19.8 billion on tech in 2026 to maintain its competitive edge and drive operational efficiencies.

The spend will be up 10% year over year in 2026, according to thebank’s Firm Overview report, published Feb. 23. 

“The contributors of growth are … inflation and, perhaps not surprisingly, higher hardware expense as AI-related shortages are pushing up memory prices,” Jeremy Barnum, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said about the spend Feb. 23.

The $3.8 trillion bank aims to spend more money on: 

• AI and machine learning; 

• Customer and client experience; 

• Business apps and geographic expansion; and  

• Blockchain. 

Some top use AI cases at JPMorgan, according to FinAi News’ prior reporting, are:  

• Software development;  

• Fighting fraud; and  

• Risk management. 

Nearly 150,000 bank employees are using LLMs every week, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon during the event, adding: “They think they’re saving four hours a day.”   

The bank has seen a 10% efficiency gain in coding processes due to AI and expects a 25% efficiency gain operation wide in the coming years, according to the presentation. 

And, JPMorgan has identified nearly $600 million in efficiencies from some AI-related processes, enabling the bank to invest more than it otherwise could, Barnum said. 

6K AI apps running 

With more than 6,000 AI applications running, Dimon said that some of these tools help generate revenue while others contribute to cost avoidance and risk management. 

It is difficult to measure the returns on tech investments, he said. 

“I think the harder thing to measure has always been tech projects, [and] that’s been true my whole life,” Dimon said.  

“It’s also been true my whole life [that] the tech is what changes everything, like everything —  going to mainframes, going to servers, going to speed … When I used to take five days to do a trade on equities and 25 cents … now it’s seconds and not even pennies anymore.” 

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