AI Infrastructure Evolution: 2026 Investment Shifts From Chips to Broader Enablement

The 2025 technology sector was dominated by AI chip investments, with NVDA (up 39.13%) and GOOGL (up 64.88%) outperforming the S&P 500’s 17.05% gain [0]. However, the landscape is evolving to include broader AI infrastructure, driven by projections of a 36% rise in capex for the top five hyperscalers—from $443B in 2025 to $602B in 2026—with ~75% ($450B) allocated to AI-related infrastructure beyond semiconductors, including data center capacity, power solutions, and cooling systems [1].

AI data centers face significant bottlenecks: a single AI rack at peak load uses as much power as 100 typical U.S. homes, highlighting mismatches between grid expansion timelines and data center development [2]. To address thermal management, direct-to-chip and immersion cooling are expected to become standard features in the coming years [3]. The global green AI data center market, driven by AI workloads and energy-efficiency mandates, is projected to reach $67.60B in 2026, growing at a 6.88% CAGR through 2035 [4].

As of November 2025, the Information Technology sector accounted for over 36% of the S&P 500’s market capitalization, up 4.8 percentage points year-over-year [5]. However, on 2025-12-23, the tech sector underperformed value sectors like Utilities (+1.67%) and Consumer Defensive (+1.01%), signaling potential rotation [0].

1. Investment Focus Shift
   : The AI trade is expanding from high-valuation chip stocks (NVDA, GOOGL) to “boring” infrastructure enablers, including data center components, power grid enhancement technologies, battery storage, and cooling systems.
2. Sector Rotation Potential
   : With expected easing interest rates, investors may rotate from stretched tech valuations to value sectors (banks, industrials, healthcare, commodities) that benefit from AI infrastructure buildouts and broader economic growth.
3. Valuation Dynamics
   : Companies in digital infrastructure sectors could see re-valuations, while the tech sector’s premium valuation may compress as the AI trade broadens beyond chips.

• Opportunities
  : Growth prospects in data center construction materials, power grid modernization, green energy solutions for data centers, and advanced cooling technologies.
• Risks
  : Regulatory hurdles and transmission buildout delays slowing data center deployment [2]; uncertainty around the timing of a potential capex growth slowdown [1]; changing energy policies and export controls disrupting supply chains [5].

• 2025 YTD performance: NVDA +39.13%, GOOGL +64.88%, S&P 500 +17.05% [0]
• 2026 hyperscaler capex projection: $602B (36% increase from 2025) [1]
• Green AI data center market size 2026: $67.60B [4]
• Tech sector’s S&P 500 market weight (Nov 2025): 36% [5]