The companies cashing in on the AI boom aren't the ones you might expect

"For the last century, Caterpillar's calling card has been its trademark macaroni-yellow backhoes and bulldozers. Increasingly, customers are interested in something else: the generators powering the artificial intelligence boom. At hundreds of data center construction sites across the US, Caterpillar - alongside Cummins, Generac, and Rolls-Royce - supplies dozens of these machines. With some capable of powering more than 1,000 homes, generators ensure that AI models and cloud software can run without interruption."

"These hulking devices, it turns out, are cash cows. While the surge in AI demand has fueled hundreds of billions of dollars in spending, much of that hasn't yet flowed to the usual suspects in Big Tech. Instead, it has ended up in the hands of builders, blue-collar laborers, and companies like Caterpillar and Cummins, which manufacture unsexy but crucial equipment."

"Plenty of non-tech companies have benefited from AI spending, including companies like Primoris and Dycom Industries that lay pipes and fiber that connect data centers to natural gas and the internet. Generator companies are particularly well-positioned: As hyperscalers race to build power-hungry data centers, the demand for backup and off-grid electricity has ballooned. "Power generation is a business that has never seen this kind of scale, in any way, ever," Tom Shepherd, a data center executive at Cummins, told Business Insider."

Caterpillar, Cummins, Generac, and Rolls-Royce supply generators to hundreds of data-center construction sites across the US. Some generators can power more than 1,000 homes and ensure AI models and cloud software run without interruption. The surge in AI-related spending has redirected hundreds of billions of dollars toward builders, blue-collar laborers, and industrial equipment manufacturers rather than flowing solely to Big Tech. Caterpillar and Cummins have outperformed the S&P 500 and seen stock-price spikes that exceed many major data-center customers. Companies that install pipes and fiber, such as Primoris and Dycom, also benefit as hyperscalers expand power-hungry facilities.

Read at Business Insider