BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, stated in its 2026 Investment Directions report this week that investors continue to support the AI boom. However, they now view energy and power providers as the most compelling opportunities to increase exposure to the AI theme this year.
A recent survey of hundreds of BlackRock clients found that respondents believe in the AI theme and its value. They are seeking to diversify their investments within and around AI, expanding beyond the Magnificent Seven, hyperscalers, and Big Tech companies.
More than half—54%—of the survey participants believe that energy providers are the most compelling opportunity to increase exposure to the AI theme this year. In a multi-select question, 37% responded that infrastructure would be the most compelling opportunity around AI, while only 20% see U.S. mega-cap tech giants as the most compelling play in AI.
Only 7% believe the AI theme is a bubble, indicating investors are not backing off from the AI boom. They are seeking greater diversification around the hottest market theme in recent years. According to BlackRock's survey of clients, power supply, with energy providers, represents the biggest growth opportunity.
"As investors look to build exposure to the AI theme, interest is broadening from core AI technology to the wider ecosystems underpinning it," BlackRock said in its report.
"In our recent survey, clients highlighted energy and power providers as the most compelling opportunity, amid accelerating AI-driven power demand," the report added.
Investors have therefore started to bet on the most critical bottleneck in the AI boom—the soaring electricity demand to power data centers.
Ibrahim Kanan, Head of Core US Equity, Fundamental Equities at BlackRock, noted in comments to the report, "Today’s US market is historically concentrated – but the earnings outlook isn’t. With the rest of the S&P 500 expected to catch up to the Magnificent 7 in EPS growth through 2026, it’s increasingly important to risk-manage mega cap and AI exposure while also capturing differentiated upside opportunities."
According to the world's biggest asset manager, the global AI race is also an energy race, as AI is highly energy-intensive.
Goldman Sachs Research, for example, expects data center power demand to surge 175% by 2030 compared to 2023 levels. This jump in electricity demand would be equivalent to adding another Top 10 power-consuming country.
Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in an October report that the investment bank continues to see the reliability of power and water as "a multi-year investment theme amid rising demand growth, aging infrastructure and Adaptation to extreme temperatures/weather events."
"We continue to see attractive investment opportunities across the power supply chain driven by power demand growth acceleration — in the US, to levels not seen since the 1990s," Goldman Sachs says.
The demand is so significant that aging grid infrastructure in key regional U.S. markets cannot cope with all requests, with grid investments lagging behind soaring power demand.
Samantha Dart, Goldman Sachs’ co-head of global commodities research, said at a conference earlier this month that at the current rate of interconnection requests and grid capacity, the U.S. could face a power crunch by 2030.
Goldman Sachs research analysts said in an October report that data center power demand growth alone would accelerate total U.S. power demand growth through 2030 by 1.2 percentage points to an overall level of 2.6%. This represents the highest growth in America’s electricity demand since the 1990s.
"We aren’t adding enough capacity," Dart said this week at the Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech and Utilities Conference in Miami. She added that if the issue remains unaddressed, the U.S. could lose the AI race with China.