Miriam Wheeler, the global head of leverage finance at Goldman Sachs, said investors are prioritizing hard assets linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure.
This shift in investment focus highlights the physical requirements of AI, moving beyond software and chips to the energy and real estate necessary to sustain the technology.
Speaking during a Bloomberg Open Interest interview on Bloomberg Television, Wheeler said the current infrastructure build-out is a "generational opportunity" [1]. She said the demand for physical assets is accelerating as companies race to scale their AI capabilities.
Wheeler specifically highlighted the strain on energy grids. She said power demand for data centers will double over the next few years [1]. This projected two-fold increase [1] in electricity needs underscores the critical role of power generation and distribution in the AI ecosystem.
According to Wheeler, the focus on hard assets is a primary theme for investors. These assets include the land, buildings, and electrical infrastructure required to house the massive computing power needed for large-scale AI models [1].
The transition to AI-driven infrastructure represents a long-term investment trend. As data centers expand to meet processing needs, the reliance on stable and scalable energy sources becomes a central economic driver [1].
“This is a "generational opportunity."”
The emphasis on 'hard assets' indicates that the AI boom is transitioning from a purely digital phase to a physical industrial phase. If power demand doubles as predicted, the bottleneck for AI growth will likely shift from chip availability to electrical grid capacity and energy procurement, potentially favoring companies with existing energy infrastructure.
