AI is turning energy into the hottest business in America

The AI boom is pushing companies across the economy — from tech giants to automakers — deep into the energy business. Why it matters : The scramble for electricity has become the gold rush beneath the AI boom, creating enormous financial value and enormous risk if demand falls short. Driving the news : Electricity — long treated as a cheap, abundant commodity — is suddenly emerging as one of the most valuable strategic assets in business. "Everyone to some extent is either dependent on energy as a core input or they see energy as a huge opportunity," said Brian Janous, who was Microsoft's first energy hire 15 years ago and is now co-founder of data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. The latest : Ford unveiled earlier this month its expansion into energy storage for data centers and other large power users. It launched a new subsidiary called Ford Energy in response to what it calls "the massive demand for domestic energy storage." Follow the money : Investors are increasingly rewarding companies pivoting to — or doubling down on — the power behind the AI boom. A few recent highlights: Ford's stock price rose to its highest level in three years after its rollout of the $2 billion energy business. Bloom Energy , long seen as a niche energy player whose tech can deliver on-site power fast , saw its stock price skyrocket more than 1,200% over the past year. Fervo Energy , a geothermal startup once viewed as speculative climate tech, surged after going public earlier this month as Wall Street hunts for new electricity sources to feed data centers. GE Vernova booked $2.4 billion in electric equipment orders for data centers in the first quarter alone, more than it made all of last year in equivalent sales. Its stock has gone up about 60% this year. "The energy behind the [artificial] intelligence is invisible to most people, but it's enormous," said Andy Power, president and CEO of Digital Realty, one of the world's...

Original source: Axios