Despite geopolitical tensions, US equity markets have reached record highs, with artificial intelligence at the heart of this surge. What is driving these historic moves? How are investors positioning themselves to both capture the opportunities and manage the risks?

In this episode of The View Beyond, Bernadette Anderko is joined by Carsten Menke, Head of Next Generation Research at Julius Baer, and Manuel Villegas, Co-Manager of the Julius Baer Next Generation Equity Fund. They explore the rapid development of AI, the unprecedented growth in data centre infrastructure, and the evolving dynamics of the global value chain. The discussion covers the shift from AI training to inference, the critical role of memory and hardware, bottlenecks in data centre buildout, and the implications of rising capital expenditure by hyperscalers. Their conversation also examines the international nature of the AI value chain, the impact of regulatory and supply constraints, and the outlook for investors as monetisation accelerates across the sector.

(00:00) - Introduction
(00:56) - AI's impact on the tech landscape
(03:56) - Hardware vs. software
(05:22) - Capturing the AI infrastructure super cycle
(09:01) - Data centre bottlenecks and constraints
(10:43) - Inflationary pressures
(13:27) - The politics of data centre construction
(14:52) - Hyperscaler earnings
(18:16) - How AI investments are translating into tangible revenues
(19:49) - Performance, positioning, and valuation
(20:53) - Winners, sector rotation, and the importance of Asia's supply chain
(23:16) - The global nature of the AI value chain
(24:22) - Scenarios for cloud computing and AI
(24:56) - View on sub sectors for remainder of 2026
(27:11) - Closing remarks and legal disclaimer

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The View Beyond: The AI story behind US equity highs

Moving Markets

The View Beyond: The AI story behind US equity highs