7 pick-and-shovel plays on the AI gold rush

Everyone’s chasing AI. Nvidia, Microsoft, OpenAI… the trillion-dollar names leading the charge.

But here’s the truth almost nobody’s talking about:

AI might be this century’s gold rush—but the biggest fortunes won’t go to the ones mining the gold.

They’ll go to the companies selling the shovels.

And in this boom, those “shovels” are measured in megawatts.

The AI boom’s hidden weak spot

We’ve already seen the headlines.

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says AI will require $3–4 trillion in infrastructure spending this decade. RAND projects 327 gigawatts of new electricity demand from AI data centers—enough to power every home in the country… and then some.

The Department of Energy is warning that the U.S. grid faces reliability risks by 2030. Grid operators like PJM are sounding alarms over coal retirements and capacity shortages.

Put simply, AI’s growth is outpacing the power supply.

Every ChatGPT query, AI-generated image, and autonomous algorithm consumes massive amounts of electricity.

And as “agentic AI” (the next, more advanced generation of models) takes over, energy demand will explode.

Just like gold miners needed steel and dynamite before they could dig, AI needs electricity before it can think.

Big Tech is already making its move

The biggest companies in the world have quietly become energy investors.

Microsoft signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy, which includes plans to bring a Three Mile Island unit back online to exclusively power Microsoft’s AI data centers. If regulators approve, the decommissioned nuclear plant could be back up and running again by 2028.

Google and Meta are also signing decades-long power purchase agreements to lock in electricity for their cloud operations.

They understand what most retail investors don’t: whoever controls power will control AI.

These firms are the modern-day railroad barons of the digital age—building the infrastructure that will define the next century.

But you don’t need to be a trillion-dollar company to profit from this boom.

The forgotten winners

While everyone’s chasing chipmakers, the real fortunes will be made by the companies powering the AI revolution.

Short-term winners (Now–3 years):

• Natural gas — Natgas is the backbone of America’s power grid—and the fastest energy source to scale. Data centers are already driving a surge in natural gas demand as utilities race to keep up. Companies with access to cheap, abundant gas (especially in the South and Midwest) stand to see explosive growth in both production and pricing.
• Coal — Like it or not, coal isn’t dead. Several plants previously scheduled for shutdown are being kept online because there’s no immediate replacement for their capacity. Coal producers and operators of “legacy” plants could enjoy a surprising short-term profit spike as AI-related power demand ramps up.
• Uranium — Nuclear energy is making a comeback. Global uranium demand is rising as more countries—and now U.S. utilities—turn back to nuclear for stable baseload power. Spot prices are near multi-year highs, and nuclear fuel suppliers could be among the biggest early beneficiaries of the AI-driven power crunch.

Mid-term winners (3–7 years):

• Next-gen nuclear — Small modular reactors (SMRs) and portable micro-reactors are no longer science fiction. Companies like Oklo and NuScale are designing compact, scalable reactors capable of powering large industrial sites and data centers. Once approved for commercial use, these could redefine how hyperscalers and cities source energy.
• Fuel cells — Think of these as “micro power plants.” Firms like Bloom Energy are building systems that can run data centers off-grid, offering clean, reliable electricity even during peak loads or blackouts. As grid constraints worsen, adoption of these decentralized energy solutions will accelerate.

Long-term winners (7+ years):

• Solar and wind — Once unprofitable without subsidies, these alternative energy sources are now becoming cost-competitive on their own. Utilities are rapidly expanding renewable projects to balance their generation mix, especially as energy storage becomes cheaper and more efficient. Expect major growth in solar developers, equipment suppliers, and large-scale wind farm operators.
• Storage and grid tech — The “invisible infrastructure” of the AI era—like battery systems, grid-balancing software, and smart distribution networks—will make it possible to deliver energy when and where it’s needed most. This includes everything from lithium and rare-earth suppliers to next-gen battery makers and AI-driven grid management firms.
  

The bottom line

AI’s energy demand isn’t a short-term fad. It’s a permanent shift in how the world consumes power.

The last time we saw an infrastructure buildout of this scale, it created the railroads, utilities, and industrial giants that powered the 20th century.

This time, it’ll be the energy companies fueling AI.

Wall Street still views energy as a slow, boring sector… but that perception is about to change fast.

Because while everyone else is chasing the gold… the smart money is selling the shovels.

AI is the rush. Energy is the shovel. And those who own the power will own the profits.