Investors shift attention to AI infrastructure as power limits grow

In short: As AI use grows faster than the power grid can expand, investors are paying more attention to the companies that supply the electricity and equipment AI needs.

What's going on

A Financial Times opinion column argues that the best place for investors to look in AI may be the “enablers”, meaning the behind-the-scenes providers that make AI possible. Think of them as the picks and shovels in a gold rush, rather than the gold itself.

The column says AI demand is rising quickly. It cites data showing that “tokens” (small chunks of text or data that AI systems read and write, like the basic units on an AI’s meter) grew 10 times between January 2025 and April 2026, based on figures from fintech company Ramp.

But the biggest constraint may be electricity. The writer projects a 40 gigawatt shortfall in US power grid access for data center developers through 2028, which is about half the power they may need. For comparison, a large US city often uses a few gigawatts a day.

What to watch

The column points to slow timelines for grid upgrades. It says power transformer delivery times now average more than two years in the US, versus 12 to 16 weeks before Covid, and some utilities quote grid connection waits of a decade or more.

It also flags local political pushback against new data centers, including concerns about higher power bills, air quality, and water use. The suggested workarounds include fuel cells (machines that turn a fuel into electricity on site) and large batteries, which act like an “inventory of electricity” to help manage peaks in demand.

Source: Financial Times