Thematic AI Beneficiaries Beyond Core Tech

#AI’s Ripple Effect Across Industries

This article is part of our in-depth AI investing series, examining the global giants shaping the future of AI at scale. While Tiers 1 through 3 focus on companies building AI directly, providing infrastructure for AI, or strategically integrating AI into established products, Tier 4: Thematic Beneficiaries captures the next layer. This includes the industries and companies positioned to benefit indirectly from AI adoption.

These firms may not be designing large language models or selling AI chips, but they are seeing rising demand for their products and services as AI adoption expands. For investors, Tier 4 offers a way to gain exposure to AI growth while holding companies in sectors that may be less correlated with tech market cycles.

*These companies are vertically integrated across multiple categories and tiers.

#Why Thematic Beneficiaries Matter

AI has far-reaching effects beyond the technology sector. It drives demand for consulting services to help enterprises implement AI solutions, boosts electricity usage in data centers, and increases the value of real estate assets that can house advanced computing infrastructure. It also transforms industries like education, content creation, and hardware manufacturing.

For retail investors, this tier can offer diversification benefits. While these companies are not dependent solely on AI, they can capture incremental growth as AI reshapes business operations across sectors.

#Categories and Key Players

Consulting & IT Services

Accenture, Cognizant, and Infosys (ADR) advise corporations on how to integrate AI into workflows. These firms see AI as both a consulting opportunity and a way to improve their own service delivery. Growth comes from enterprise clients seeking guidance on AI adoption without having to build in-house expertise.

Energy Providers

NextEra Energy, Constellation Energy, and Vistra are poised to benefit from the surge in electricity demand driven by AI data centers. Recent data indicate that AI-driven data centers are a major component of future power demand growth. For instance, NextEra Energy projects that 17% of the global rise in electricity demand over the next two decades will come from AI-related facilities. The IEA also forecasts that data centers could account for nearly half of U.S. electricity demand growth by 2030. Training large AI models requires significant power, and as computing workloads increase, utilities capable of delivering stable and sustainable energy will be in higher demand.

Real Estate & Data Center REITs

Equinix, Digital Realty, and Iron Mountain operate data centers and related infrastructure essential for AI workloads. These REITs lease space, power, and cooling to cloud providers, AI developers, and large enterprises. AI growth is increasing the need for high-density, high-availability facilities.

Education & Upskilling

Duolingo, Coursera, and Udemy offer AI-enhanced learning platforms. Duolingo uses AI for personalized language instruction, while Coursera and Udemy use AI to recommend and adapt courses for individual learners. As AI changes job requirements, demand for reskilling platforms is expected to grow.

AI-Driven Content & Media

Adobe, Autodesk, and Unity are embedding AI tools into their creative software. Adobe’s AI features automate design tasks, Autodesk uses AI for predictive modeling in engineering, and Unity integrates AI into game development. These capabilities can improve productivity for creators and expand market reach.

Hardware Peripherals & Components

Vertiv, Super Micro Computer, and Corning supply the physical components that support AI computing environments. Vertiv provides power and cooling systems, Super Micro builds AI-optimized servers, and Corning manufactures high-performance glass and fiber essential for networking.

#Opportunities and Growth Drivers

The biggest growth driver for Tier 4 is the expanding AI ecosystem itself. As AI usage scales, it creates secondary demand across consulting, energy, real estate, and hardware.

Key drivers include:

• Rising enterprise demand for AI implementation guidance.

• Increased energy consumption from AI training and inference workloads.

• Growing need for data center capacity and advanced networking hardware.

• Accelerating demand for upskilling and reskilling in the workforce.

• Productivity gains from AI-powered creative and engineering tools.

Because these companies are often market leaders in their respective industries, they can capture AI-related demand without relying exclusively on the technology sector for growth.

#Risks and Headwinds

For Tier 4, the main risk is that AI-related demand may not be large enough to materially move the needle on revenue. For example, an energy provider may benefit from data center demand but still be subject to broader electricity market dynamics.

Real estate and REITs face interest rate sensitivity, which can affect valuations regardless of AI growth. Consulting firms may see project delays or cancellations if economic conditions tighten.

Additionally, some categories face competitive threats—creative software providers integrating AI may need to compete with lower-cost or open-source alternatives.

#Portfolio Fit

Tier 4 can serve as a diversifying component of an AI-focused portfolio. These stocks may have lower volatility than Tier 1 or Tier 2 names because AI is only part of their revenue base.

They also appeal to investors who want AI exposure without committing entirely to tech-heavy holdings. A mix of consulting firms, REITs, and hardware component suppliers can provide both growth and income potential.

#FAQs

Do Tier 4 companies depend heavily on AI?

No. AI is often a secondary growth driver. Their core businesses can perform independently of AI adoption trends.

Is Tier 4 less risky than earlier tiers?

Generally, yes. Because AI is not the sole revenue source, these companies tend to have more stable earnings.

Can Tier 4 still outperform if AI adoption accelerates?

Yes, especially in areas like data center REITs, consulting, and AI-enhanced creative tools, where demand could rise quickly.

Are these companies mostly tech stocks?

No. Tier 4 includes utilities, real estate, education, and industrial hardware, making it more sector-diverse than earlier tiers.