SpaceX’s IPO filing – the biggest in history – shows AI’s next trillion-dollar trade is infrastructure, not software, affirms the CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group.
The analysis from Nigel Green comes as SpaceX prepares a major fundraising round expected to value the Elon Musk-led company at around $400 billion, a figure that makes it one of the most valuable private companies in history and underlines the scale of investor appetite surrounding the infrastructure powering the artificial intelligence boom.
He comments: “The market is entering a new phase in the AI cycle, one in which the biggest opportunities are no longer concentrated solely in software developers or chatbot platforms, but in the physical systems required to sustain the rapid expansion of AI globally.”
He argues that investors are now beginning to understand the sheer scale of infrastructure spending AI will require over the next decade.
“Trillions of dollars are likely to flow into data centres, semiconductors, electricity generation, cooling systems, fibre networks, cloud architecture and satellite connectivity.
“Software captured the first wave of excitement around artificial intelligence, but infrastructure is where the next trillion-dollar investment opportunity is emerging.
“AI models require extraordinary computing power. Every new breakthrough increases demand for chips, energy, storage capacity and ultra-fast connectivity.”
Markets are moving “beyond the novelty stage,” and investors are now assessing what is actually required to support artificial intelligence at global scale, and the answer is “massive infrastructure expansion.”
He says the significance of the latest SpaceX filing stretches far beyond the company itself.
“SpaceX is increasingly viewed not only as a space company, but as critical infrastructure for the digital economy,” continues the deVere CEO.
“Satellite systems, secure communications, global internet coverage and data transmission are becoming strategically essential as AI adoption accelerates across industries and countries.
“The companies building the foundations of this new era are attracting enormous capital because investors recognize these assets are likely to become indispensable.”
The deVere CEO notes that the market narrative around AI has shifted markedly over the past year.
Early enthusiasm largely centred on consumer-facing applications and software platforms. Attention is now turning toward the businesses supplying the hardware, energy and network capacity underpinning the sector’s expansion.
According to Nigel Green, this transition is likely to reshape global capital allocation for years.
AI is developing into something far larger than a conventional tech cycle.
“It increasingly resembles an industrial transformation with consequences for energy markets, construction, commodities, manufacturing and national infrastructure policy.
“Governments and corporations are already competing aggressively to secure computing capacity and reliable energy access because AI leadership will depend heavily on infrastructure strength.”
He points to the accelerating buildout of hyperscale data centres in the US, Europe and Asia, alongside surging investment into advanced semiconductors and electricity generation projects.
Demand pressures are already creating strains in some regional power grids as large AI systems consume more electricity than previous generations of digital services.
“Investors should understand that AI’s expansion is constrained by infrastructure availability,” explains Nigel Green.
“You can’t scale advanced artificial intelligence indefinitely without parallel growth in power generation, transmission networks, and compute capacity.
“Those bottlenecks create enormous opportunities for the companies positioned to solve them.”
The deVere chief executive also says private market valuations increasingly reflect this reality.
“Capital is flowing toward infrastructure because investors see durability there,” he concludes.
“The SpaceX IPO filing shows that the market is beginning to price in the possibility that the infrastructure layer of AI could ultimately become a multi-trillion-dollar global investment story in its own right.”
