Everyone’s talking about AI, but what’s getting less attention is the infrastructure required to actually run it.
The explosion in generative AI, large language models, and autonomous systems is creating unprecedented demand for physical infrastructure.
Data centers need massive expansion. Chip manufacturers are scrambling to meet orders for specialized processors. Power grids require upgrades to handle increased electrical loads. Cooling systems must evolve to manage heat from high-performance computing. Network hardware needs complete overhauls to handle AI workloads.
And that’s what is triggering significant opportunity for investors who know where to look.
An entire ecosystem of hardware manufacturers and infrastructure specialists is now enabling the AI revolution. These companies are positioned to capture significant value from the multi-billion-dollar buildout happening across the AI stack.
In this report, we’ve identified five companies building the physical foundation that makes AI possible…and that stand to benefit substantially as enterprise adoption accelerates.
Remember to conduct your own research to ensure these investments align with your financial goals and risk tolerance.
The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES)
The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES), a global power company that owns and operates over 32,000 megawatts of generation capacity, serving 2.7 million customers worldwide.
AES has positioned itself well for the data center boom through two key areas: renewable energy development and energy storage. The company co-owns Fluence Energy (FLNC) with Siemens, which builds large-scale battery systems that help stabilize the grid and support the massive power demands of cloud computing and AI workloads.
More importantly, AES has been landing long-term contracts with major tech companies that need reliable, clean electricity for their expanding server farms. These are multi-year commitments that provide AES with predictable revenue streams while helping tech giants meet their carbon reduction targets.
The investment case here is straightforward: AES trades at what looks like a discount despite sitting in the middle of two major growth trends: (1) the shift to renewable energy and (2) the surge in data center power demand.
The company’s traditional utility operations provide steady cash flow, while its renewable development pipeline should benefit from increased corporate demand for clean energy.
According to the 12 analysts’ twelve-month price targets for AES, the average price target is $24.67, which represents a forecasted upside of 83.50% from the current share price.
Confluent, Inc. (Nasdaq: CFLT)
Confluent, Inc. (Nasdaq: CFLT) builds the data streaming platform that connects applications, systems, and data in real-time. The company offers Confluent Cloud, a managed service, and Confluent Platform for self-managed deployments.
Confluent has positioned itself at the center of the AI boom by solving a critical problem: getting fresh, reliable data to AI applications fast enough to matter. The company launched its “Data Streaming for AI” initiative to help organizations build real-time AI applications, moving beyond the slow, batch-based data pipelines that leave AI models working with stale information.
The AI opportunity is significant for Confluent. Companies building chatbots, recommendation engines, and fraud detection systems need continuous streams of current data…not yesterday’s batch files. Confluent recently launched Flink Native Inference, which lets customers run AI models directly within the platform, eliminating the need to move data between systems.
They’ve also introduced unified search across vector databases and built-in machine learning functions, making it easier for companies to deploy AI without requiring specialized expertise.
The company has expanded partnerships with AI and vector database providers like MongoDB, Pinecone, Rockset, Weaviate, and Zilliz, while working with cloud giants Google and Microsoft on AI-specific integrations.
According to the 30 analysts covering the company, the average twelve-month price target for shares of CFLT is $30.36, which represents a forecasted potential upside of 12.10% from the current share price.
Fluence Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FLNC)
Fluence Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FLNC) delivers grid-scale energy storage systems and optimization software that help utilities balance renewable energy’s inherent variability. The company builds the batteries and brains that store excess solar and wind power when it’s abundant, then release it when needed.
Fluence has faced significant headwinds recently. The company lowered its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to $2.6-2.8 billion (down $700 million) and slashed Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $0-20 million due to U.S. tariff uncertainty causing project delays. Despite these challenges, Fluence maintains a record $5.1 billion backlog, representing 38% year-over-year growth, indicating strong underlying demand.
The company’s key competitive advantage lies in its software platform and new product innovation. In February 2025, Fluence launched Smartstack™, a breakthrough modular energy storage platform that delivers 30% higher energy density than existing AC-based systems and up to 7.5 MWh per unit.
Smartstack features locally deployed AI for autonomous optimization and a modular design that enables easier shipping and maintenance. The company has already secured its first Smartstack contract, with deliveries beginning in Q4 2025.
The tariff situation has created near-term uncertainty, but also opportunity. Fluence’s focus on domestic manufacturing and the modular design allowing regional sourcing positions it well as utilities increasingly value supply chain security. The company’s software recurring revenue remains stable, providing a buffer against hardware volatility.
American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT)
American Tower Corporation (NYSE: AMT) operates one of the world’s largest portfolios of communications infrastructure, including over 149,000 cell towers globally and a rapidly growing data center business that positions it as a key AI infrastructure play.
American Tower’s transformation into an AI infrastructure story began with its 2021 acquisition of CoreSite, which brought 28 interconnected data centers across 11 major U.S. markets.
CoreSite delivered double-digit growth in Q2 2025, driven by “growing demand for AI-ready interconnection solutions”, making it one of AMT’s fastest-growing segments. CoreSite’s 2025 research shows enterprises are increasingly choosing colocation data centers specifically for AI applications, with cloud interconnection being the top factor.
The company is also building “aggregation edge data centers” to bring compute closer to where data is generated. American Tower’s first 4,000-square-foot aggregation edge facility in Raleigh, North Carolina, launched in Q1 2025, designed to support low-latency AI and cloud applications.
CoreSite became an NVIDIA DGX-Ready Data Center partner, positioning it to host high-performance AI infrastructure at key locations including Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Chicago, and Northern Virginia.
AMT’s core tower business benefits from AI indirectly as 5G networks require denser infrastructure to handle AI-driven applications. The company’s inflation-protected lease structures remain valuable, with most contracts including annual escalators tied to inflation benchmarks.
According to the 18 analysts’ twelve-month price targets for AMT, the average price target is $242.31. That average price target represents a forecasted upside of 12.45%.
Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET)
Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET) offers a cloud-based SaaS platform for monitoring and analytics, specializing in cloud computing and AI-powered cybersecurity products.
Its solutions serve large data centers, cloud computing environments, high-performance computing, and high-frequency trading sectors. As an industry leader in data-driven, client-to-cloud networking, Arista provides infrastructure for AI-driven applications, data centers, campus networks, and routing environments.
What sets Arista apart is its technical dominance in high-speed, low-latency networking, which are precisely the kind of infrastructure needed to handle the demands of large language models, real-time inference, and AI training workloads. Its Ethernet switching and routing gear is a “go-to” choice for hyperscalers and enterprise cloud operators scaling up for the AI era.
The company is also benefiting from surging capex among major cloud providers, many of whom are upgrading to Arista’s ultra-fast 400G and 800G platforms. With a software-driven model, Arista offers strong margins and recurring revenue opportunities through its EOS operating system and network telemetry products as well.
Arista’s fundamentals remain impressive, with strong revenue growth, consistent profitability, and no debt on the balance sheet.
Analysts remain bullish, citing Arista’s pivotal role in the next wave of AI infrastructure buildouts and its expanding relationships with cloud and data center giants. In fact, 15 of the 20 analysts who cover the stock have issued “Buy” ratings (with 5 “holds”.)