Company Interview / Beyond big tech - ASX names riding AI’s infra wave

Key points:

Exploding AI CapEx from hyperscalers and emerging AI leadersRevenue traction at Anthropic and OpenAI supporting ongoing infrastructure spendAustralian AI exposure via copper-linked names BHP, Rio Tinto, Sandfire Resources and Capstone Copper

Jason Teh from Vertium Asset Management states that the global AI capital expenditure boom is transforming infrastructure, with hyperscalers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Oracle and Meta driving unprecedented spend on data centres and semiconductors. Teh cites estimates of AI-related CapEx heading towards US$800 billion next year, with potential to reach US$1 trillion if current trends continue. He points to Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX-linked vehicles as additional forces likely to deploy fresh capital into compute and data centre build-outs following IPOs.

Teh argues this cycle differs from the early-2000s tech bubble, as leading AI models such as Anthropic and OpenAI are already generating significant revenue, providing a clearer line of sight to returns on invested capital. He notes semiconductor earnings per share have accelerated alongside CapEx, and views the recent pullback in chip stocks as a digestion phase rather than the end of the cycle, provided spending and earnings keep rising.

For Australian investors, Teh sees limited direct semiconductor exposure on the ASX, but highlights copper as a key indirect AI play. He points to BHP (ASX:BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) and Capstone Copper (ASX:CSC) as beneficiaries of sustained copper demand from data centre electrification and related infrastructure.