BlackRock said it continues to see a strong long-term investment case for artificial intelligence but expects investors to broaden their focus as they look ahead to 2026. In comments released on Tuesday, the world’s largest asset manager noted that while AI remains a dominant theme, capital is increasingly being directed beyond the largest technology names.
According to BlackRock’s Investment Directions report, investors positioning for AI-driven growth into 2026 are showing a clear preference for energy and infrastructure providers rather than Wall Street’s biggest technology groups. The conclusions were drawn from a recent investor survey conducted by the firm.
Big tech and AI-led stocks dominated global equity markets in 2025, but BlackRock said sentiment is shifting as the multitrillion-dollar race by companies such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta (NASDAQ:META) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) to build new data centres raises concerns around capital intensity, uncertain returns and higher financing costs. These pressures are prompting investors to search for alternative ways to gain exposure to the AI theme.
Among the 732 companies surveyed by BlackRock across the EMEA region, only around one in five respondents said the largest U.S. technology groups represented the most attractive AI investment opportunity. By contrast, more than half of those surveyed said they preferred companies supplying the power required by data centres, while 37% identified infrastructure as their top AI-related investment focus.
“It’s increasingly important to risk-manage megacap and AI exposure while also capturing differentiated upside opportunities,” BlackRock’s head of core U.S. equity, Ibrahim Kanan, said in a report published alongside the survey findings.
Despite the shift in preferences, confidence in the AI theme remains high. Just 7% of respondents said they believed artificial intelligence currently represents a market bubble.