I still remember the day I heard about a crazy new website called “Amazon”…
This was back in 1999. A close friend was raising two young kids, and he’d just started shopping on the internet to save some time.
He was ecstatic about how much time he was saving. And he was blown away that he could tap a few keys on his computer … then have his purchases delivered to his doorstep about a week later.
Of course, Amazon was little more than a glorified bookstore back then.
This was a decade before Apple released its first smartphone.
About a third of Americans had a cell phone at the time.
And only 12% of Americans had internet access.
These were the early days of the Internet Revolution.
Even though folks like my friend could tell there was some value to the new technology — no one would’ve guessed how much it would ultimately transform our lives.
Amazon is now a retail juggernaut, second only to Walmart, with $1.6 billion in daily sales revenue.
Tech juggernauts like Google, Facebook and Netflix emerged to create trillions of dollars in market capitalization and make unprecedented fortunes for faithful investors.
But back in 1999 or 2000, it was impossible to know just how diverse and profitable this new technology would become.
Fast forward to 2024 — and we’re right back in that same position…
We’ve just been through the exciting first phase of the AI revolution.
And it’s only a matter of time before this radical new technology transforms our everyday lives.
Before that can happen, there are THREE critical factors AI innovators will need to master.
(The third one might surprise you…)
3 Critical Factors for the Next Stage of the AI Revolution
With the launch of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, the first phase of the AI revolution was off to the races.
ChatGPT was the first “killer app” of the AI revolution.
It put the power of large language models (LLM) into the hands of everyday internet users, and people loved it.
The site reached 100 million users in just two months, proving there was a market for AI-powered tools.
A handful of mega-cap tech companies were clear frontrunners in this race since they already had a head start. These stocks are the “Magnificent Seven” that saw their shares soar steadily through 2023.
And while a few of these Magnificent Seven stocks are soaring, others aren’t. Tesla, for example, has become one of the S&P 500’s worst-performing stocks this year.
So, in some ways, it seems the initial “hype” phase of the AI boom is cooling off.
Much like the internet boom of the early 2000s, consumers and investors are getting over their initial sense of awe and excitement and are now trying to find real value in AI.
Some investors are finding that value in the hardware that will power the AI revolution.
Nvidia has a clear advantage in this area because it is the world’s leading manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs).
As the name implies, these GPUs are crucial for creating graphics, video, and images — rendering the visual effects we see in Hollywood blockbusters and our favorite streaming shows. They’re also critical for 3D modeling, architectural design and dozens of other real-world applications.
GPUs use a process called “parallel computing” to make the magic happen. It involves thousands of individual cores working in sync to complete massive computations simultaneously.
Where your computer’s CPU might have four or eight processor cores, the latest Nvidia card has 16,384 cores all working in tandem.
That’s precisely the kind of next-level processing power AI programs will need.
But the hardware is nothing without good software. And that’s where Microsoft is in the lead.
Microsoft famously inked a $10 billion deal with OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT. And it has already started integrating AI assistants into platforms like Bing and Skype.
With Windows still installed on 72% of all computers worldwide, Microsoft has a massive advantage in dominating the AI copilot market.
Ben Reitzes from Melius Research argued that Microsoft might already “own the most valuable AI real estate” and that the company’s advantage “currently isn’t quantifiable.”
There are already clear frontrunners in both the hardware and software of the AI revolution.
But that still leaves out one critical part of the formula. Something absolutely crucial for every single computer program, platform and online business…
The Key to Unlocking Next-Level AI
Think about it…
Before you browse a single webpage or download a single email, you have to hit your computer’s “power” button and wait patiently as it boots up.
If you’re reading this article on a tablet or a smartphone, then you’ll have to remember to recharge your device at the end of the day.
Power is something that most of us take for granted … because it’s always there.
Flip on a light switch or plug in a charger, and you’re good to go.
We rarely stop to think about the impact of our daily browsing and scrolling.
The simple reality is that it takes massive amounts of power to keep the internet up and running on a day-to-day basis.
According to Thunder Said Energy, internet activity soaked up 800 terawatt hours of electricity in 2022.
By 2025, the IT industry is projected to use up to 20% of all electricity produced worldwide.
Compare that to China — the most populous country in the world, with 1.4 billion residents — which only consumes slightly more power (26% of the total global market).
That’s right … your favorite websites, apps and streaming services collectively consume nearly as much power as the entire country of China!
But as stunning as these numbers are, they still don’t hold a candle to the unprecedented, power-hungry AI platforms that are right around the next corner.
That’s why Amazon, Google and Microsoft have all recently made commitments to landmark nuclear power projects, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and even restarting the dormant reactor at Three Mile Island.
Each of these Big Tech companies has realized that dominating the AI Revolution in 2025 won’t just be about having the best hardware or software … but also about having access to as much power as possible to drive their colossal research efforts…
To good profits,
Adam O’Dell
Chief Investment Strategist
