Key takeaways

• The potential of AI and data growth to drive significant infrastructure investment represents an emerging long-term thematic driver for the listed infrastructure asset class.
• In addition to expected benefits from increased power demand, AI may also reduce costs for utilities, potentially improving efficiency by optimizing operations of the grid and reducing energy waste.
• Beyond utilities, we find that AI and data demand may impact almost every major infrastructure subsector, while the role of AI in powering decarbonization is also underappreciated.

Listed infrastructure has a number of major long-term thematic drivers: decarbonization, significant electricity network investments to replace aging infrastructure and improve resiliency, and its role as a unique inflation hedge. Meanwhile, the valuation divide between listed and unlisted infrastructure showcases the attractiveness of the former.

Read more here: Listed infrastructure powers AI—and vice versa | Franklin Templeton