Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to drive a major increase in global computing demand over the coming years.
Training and running AI models requires vast amounts of data, processing power, and digital connectivity. As companies race to develop new AI capabilities, this is creating strong demand for the infrastructure that supports these systems.
While much of the attention has focused on software developers and chipmakers, a range of infrastructure providers could also benefit from this trend.
Here are two ASX 200 shares that could gain from the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence.
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Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)
Goodman Group is a global industrial property specialist. It owns, develops, and manages logistics and warehouse facilities across major international cities. Over time, the company has expanded its platform to include digital infrastructure projects, particularly data centres.
Artificial intelligence requires enormous computing power, which has led to a surge in demand for large-scale data centres. These facilities require significant land, reliable power supply, and strong connectivity, which aligns well with Goodman's expertise in developing large infrastructure assets in prime locations.
As demand for digital infrastructure continues to rise, Goodman is positioned to benefit with a global power bank of 6.0 GW across 16 major global cities.
The team at Citi is bullish on the ASX AI stock. Last week, it put a buy rating and $40.00 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of approximately 50% for investors.
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)
Megaport is a technology company that operates a global software-defined network platform that allows businesses to connect their systems directly to cloud providers and data centres. Its platform enables companies to create fast and flexible connections between digital infrastructure without relying on traditional network contracts.
Artificial intelligence applications often require large datasets to be transferred between cloud platforms, data centres, and processing environments. Megaport's network allows customers to move this data quickly and scale connectivity as their workloads grow.
If AI adoption continues accelerating, demand for flexible network connectivity could increase significantly. With a global platform connecting hundreds of data centres and cloud providers, Megaport could benefit from the growing complexity of data flows in the AI-driven economy.
In addition, its recent acquisition of Latitude is expected to be a big boost to its growth outlook. Management notes that Latitude deal creates "an industry-leading Compute and Network-as-a-Service platform to power high-performance applications and AI workloads globally."
Morgans is bullish on this one. It recently put a buy rating and $16.00 price target on its shares, which is more than double its current share price.
