The world’s biggest money manager says people should still put their cash into artificial intelligence companies this year, but they need to look beyond the usual tech suspects.
BlackRock told investors on Tuesday that the smart money in AI is shifting. Instead of betting on companies like Microsoft and Meta, people who manage large amounts of money are now more interested in the companies that provide electricity and build the infrastructure that makes AI work.
Survey shows dramatic change in investor thinking
The company laid out its findings in a report called Investment Directions, which included results from a survey of its clients. The message was clear: the AI gold rush isn’t over, but the place to dig has changed.
Last year, big technology companies drove stock market gains around the world. These firms poured trillions of dollars into a race to construct new data centers. But as the bills pile up and the financial returns remain unclear, investors are getting nervous about whether all that spending will pay off. They’re also worried about the rising costs of borrowing money to fund these projects.
BlackRock surveyed 732 companies in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to find out where they plan to put their money. The results showed a dramatic shift in thinking. Just one out of five said the biggest American tech companies offered the best chance to profit from AI investments.
More than half of those surveyed said they’re backing companies that supply power to data centers. Another 37 percent picked infrastructure as their number one choice for AI investments.
Ibrahim Kanan oversees core U.S. stock investments at BlackRock. He explained the reasoning behind the survey numbers in a report. “It’s increasingly important to risk-manage megacap and AI exposure while also capturing differentiated upside opportunities,” Kanan said.
Despite the changing strategy, almost nobody believes that the AI boom is a fake market bubble ready to pop. Only 7 percent of people in the survey believed that AI is just a market bubble ready to burst.
BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund is overseen by Russ Koesterich. He stated that in 2026, investors should choose particular equities with considerably more caution. He cited “reasonable concern” regarding AI investments in bonds and stocks.
Energy demands reshape the investment landscape
When examining the numbers, the trend towards electricity firms makes sense. Massive quantities of electricity are required for the next generation of computer chips used in AI. AI data centers require a lot more electricity than traditional facilities, according to reports.
As a result, the demand for nuclear energy, natural gas, and dependable renewable power sources has increased. BlackRock has noted that the expansion of technology companies is currently being hindered by the physical infrastructure, which includes the real power lines, transformers, and generators.
BlackRock breaks down AI investments into three stages. The first stage focused on the companies making computer chips and hardware. The second stage, which is happening in 2026, centers on building the infrastructure needed to run those chips. The third stage will focus on companies that successfully use AI to make more money and work more efficiently. The survey results confirm that big investors are now firmly in the second stage.
37% of infrastructure-focused investors are increasingly turning to private markets rather than publicly traded assets. Building large data centers often requires special funding arrangements that don’t work in conventional stock markets. BlackRock’s latest collaborations demonstrate how private finance is driving this global construction boom, which includes the sophisticated cooling systems and underwater connections required for potent AI servers.
