Curated, equal-weight baskets of public companies tracking the bottlenecks in the AI buildout — from memory and photonics to power, grid, and packaging.
800 VDC Architecture — The AI revolution is causing data centers to rapidly outgrow their traditional power delivery methods. As data centers transform into AI factories, the legacy 54 V standard has become a bottleneck.
NVIDIA 800 volts direct current (VDC) has emerged as the optimal architecture for next-generation power distribution. It decreases conversion and routing volumes in the compute space while minimizing data center distribution losses and total end-to-end conversion stages. 800 VDC significantly reduces current, copper use, and cable bulk compared to rack-level 54 VDC systems and facility-level 480 volts alternating current (VAC) systems, while remaining safe and scalable. For operators, this means better AI token efficiency and the ability to pack more computing power into the same footprint, making 800 VDC the essential foundation for the next generation of intelligence. (NVTS, MPWR, TXN, STM, POWI, ON, AOSL, VICR, ADI, IFNNY, WOLF)
AI Cloud / Neoclouds — Neocloud operators, HPC compute providers, and AI infrastructure builders capturing accelerated GPU capacity demand — from pure-play GPU clouds to miner-turned-HPC operators and hyperscale ODMs. (IREN, NBIS, CRWV, CLS, APLD, HUT, WULF, SMCI, PENG, CIFR, BTDR)
Cooling — Thermal management suppliers across the full data-center cooling stack — direct liquid cooling and immersion systems (Vertiv, Modine), campus evaporative cooling towers (SPX Technologies/MARLEY), precision air and chiller systems (Trane, AAON, Carrier, JCI, Lennox), liquid-loop flow control and pressure management (Watts Water), thermal-management enclosures and liquid-distribution units (nVent), and integrated building-efficiency and power-management platforms (Schneider Electric). (VRT, MOD, NVT, JCI, TT, AAON, CARR, SBGSY, LII, WTS, SPXC)
Custom Silicon — Chip architects and ASIC design-services firms powering AI workloads — GPU designers (NVDA, AMD), CPU-ISA licensors (ARM), FPGA makers (LSCC), custom ASIC/XPU specialists (AVGO, MRVL, CBRS, INTC, QCOM), and pure-play hyperscaler ASIC design services (Alchip/3661, Global Unichip/3443) — whose silicon underpins AI training clusters, inference deployments, and AI-accelerated edge devices. (MRVL, AVGO, NVDA, AMD, INTC, ARM, QCOM, CBRS, LSCC, 3661, 3443)
HBM / Packaging — Advanced packaging equipment, test systems, and process materials enabling HBM stacking and heterogeneous AI chip integration — spanning TCB and die bonding (Besi, Kulicke & Soffa), OSAT foundries (Amkor, ASX), wafer inspection and metrology (Camtek, Onto), handler and probe-card test (Cohu, Teradyne, FormFactor), precision dicing (Disco), and specialty process chemicals (Entegris). (CAMT, ONTO, ENTG, COHU, AMKR, ASX, FORM, 6146.T, BESIY, KLIC, TER)
InP & Substrates — III-V compound semiconductor supply chain — InP/GaAs substrates (AXT), epi wafers (IQE), SOI and engineered substrates (Soitec), MOCVD growth tools (Veeco, Aixtron), compound-semi foundries (Tower, Win Semi), and RF IC designers (MACOM, Qorvo, Skyworks) — enabling datacenter optical interconnect, high-frequency RF, and the ex-China supply alternatives that China's gallium and germanium export controls have made strategically critical. (AXTI, MTSI, SOI, IQEPY, VECO, QRVO, SWKS, TSEM, AIXA, 3105)
Lithography & Fab Tools — Leading-edge semiconductor equipment and subsystem suppliers — EUV lithography (ASML), etch/deposition (Lam, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron), ALD and epitaxy (ASM International), process control and yield management (KLA), photomasks (Photronics), ion implant (Axcelis), gas/RF delivery (MKS), and parts cleaning (Ultra Clean) — alongside TSMC as the primary foundry beneficiary of the AI-driven front-end capex supercycle. (ASML, TSM, LRCX, KLAC, AMAT, MKSI, UCTT, ACLS, PLAB, 8035.T, ASMI)
Photonics / CPO — Optical transceivers, co-packaged optics, coherent networking systems, and photonic IC suppliers enabling AI-scale interconnect bandwidth inside and between data centers. (COHR, LITE, FN, CIEN, POET, SIVE.ST, AAOI, NOK, LWLG)
Power & Grid — Electricity generation, grid infrastructure, and on-site power supply serving the AI data-center energy surge — spanning nuclear fleet operators under data-center PPAs (CEG, VST, TLN), gas turbine and grid-equipment OEMs (GEV), small modular reactor developers (NuScale, Oklo), nuclear component manufacturers (BWXT), power management and switchgear (Eaton, Hubbell, Powell), on-site and backup generation (Bloom Energy, Generac), grid-scale battery storage (Fluence), superconductor grid-protection (AMSC), and high-density rack power conversion (Vicor). (GEV, TLN, CEG, VST, POWL, AMSC, BE, ETN, HUBB, VICR, GNRC, FLNC, BWXT, OKLO, SMR)
Connectors & Interconnect — High-speed electrical connectors (Amphenol, TE Connectivity, Hirose Electric), optical fiber and copper cabling (Corning, Prysmian, Belden, Sumitomo Electric, Furukawa Electric), and power/signal connectivity components (Bel Fuse) forming the physical layer of hyperscale AI data-center builds. (APH, TEL, GLW, BDC, BELFB, 5802.T, 6806.T, PRYMF, 5801.T)
Construction & MEP — Electrical, mechanical, and specialty contractors executing the multi-year data-center build-out wave — spanning high-voltage T&D infrastructure, power-line construction, and fiber deployment (Quanta, MasTec, Dycom, MYR Group, Primoris), full MEP commissioning and HVAC installation (EMCOR, Comfort Systems), data center campus site development and e-infrastructure earthworks (Sterling Infrastructure), and fire protection, life safety, and specialty contracting for critical facilities (API Group). (PWR, EME, FIX, MTZ, DY, MYRG, PRIM, STRL, APG)
Golden Dome & Space Defense — Public companies levered to the shift toward space-based and proliferated-LEO missile defense — the "Golden Dome" architecture. SpaceX (private; IPO ticker SPCX) is the catalyst, pairing launch, a satellite constellation, and orbital power into a platform that could pivot toward directed-energy and missile-tracking defense. This basket tracks the investable public names: missile-defense and directed-energy primes (LMT, NOC, RTX, LHX), space-systems and launch pure-plays (RKLB, RDW, ASTS, IRDM), rugged/rad-hard mission compute (MRCY, CW), drones and targets (KTOS), and high-power laser makers (LASR). Not investment advice. (RKLB, LMT, NOC, RTX, LHX, KTOS, MRCY, CW, LASR, RDW, ASTS, IRDM, SPCX)
Outliers — High-conviction AI infrastructure names that don't fit a single thematic basket: wafer-level SiC/GaN burn-in and package test (AEHR), analog and RF specialty foundry (GFS), MEMS-based precision network timing ICs (SITM), precision power sub-systems for semiconductor etch and deposition tools (AEIS), magnetic current-sensing ICs for AI rack power monitoring (ALGM), AI edge vision SoCs for cameras and robotics (AMBA), and silicon wafer supply — the critical substrate underpinning all leading-edge AI chip fabs (SUMCO/3436.T). (AEHR, GFS, SITM, AEIS, ALGM, AMBA, 3436.T)
Rare Earths — Rare-earth miners, critical-mineral processors, and alternative-source developers challenging China's export-control dominance — spanning the world's largest ex-China NdPr producer (Lynas/LYC.AX), Australia's first heavy-REE refinery buildout (Iluka/ILU.AX), US-focused mine-to-magnet projects (MP Materials, USAR, ALOY), uranium/REE co-processing (Energy Fuels), and deep-sea polymetallic nodule development (TMC). (MP, ALOY, USAR, TMC, UUUU, LYC.AX, ILU.AX)
Storage — Enterprise storage systems, flash arrays, nearline HDD/NAND, HCI platforms, data management software, and cyber-resilience platforms scaling to absorb AI training-dataset volume and model-checkpoint I/O — spanning nearline HDD leaders (Seagate, WDC), all-flash array and cloud-connected storage (Pure Storage, NetApp), HCI and software-defined storage for AI inference clusters (Nutanix), data protection and ransomware-resilience software (Commvault), and infrastructure OEMs with deep storage portfolios supplying hyperscalers and enterprises (Dell, HPE). (STX, WDC, NTAP, PSTG, DELL, HPE, NTNX, CVLT)
