BlackRock Sees AI Infrastructure as the Next ’Picks and Shovels’ Gold Rush
BlackRock’s APAC strategist Ben Powell framed AI infrastructure spending as a modern-day capex boom during Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Tech giants are behaving like frontier prospectors—but the real money flows to those selling the picks and shovels.
Hardware manufacturers, energy providers, and copper wire suppliers will outperform flashy AI model developers, according to Powell. The logic mirrors 19th-century Gold rushes: When everyone digs for treasure, sell the tools.
S&P Global data underscores the thesis. Data center power demand could nearly double by 2030 as tech firms leverage credit markets to fund expansion. Chips, energy grids, and industrial metals face sustained tailwinds.