BlackRock and Blackstone outline next ‘enormous’ opportunity in AI

InvestorDaily

Enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) in 2022 helped markets defy expectations, with returns exceeding 55 per cent from the Nasdaq-100 and 26 per cent from the S&P 500 in 2023 as investors pursued exposure to the technology trend. Nvidia, an unexpected winner from the AI boom, reported a remarkable 22 per cent quarter-on-quarter earnings growth in its latest February results, marking a staggering 265 per cent increase from the previous year. Similarly, others like Microsoft have benefited from conviction around enhanced productivity and cloud computing, reporting revenue of US$62 billion in the second quarter of FY23.

In this context, it‘s no surprise that some of the world‘s most prolific asset managers are closely attuned to the AI boom, recognising “enormous” opportunities for investment in the years ahead. During a keynote speech at a conference in Melbourne this week, Blackstone chief executive and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman highlighted an “explosion” in the construction of data centres, essential infrastructure for enabling the development of artificial intelligence. “This is like something I’ve never seen,” he said.

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