Berkshire Sees AI Opportunity in Data Centers through Energy Subsidiary

Berkshire Hathaway's plan for artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming clearer, according to CEO Greg Abel. In an interview with CNBC, Abel quantified the company's AI opportunity, highlighting its stake in Alphabet and its energy subsidiary, Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE).

The big immediate opportunity for Berkshire is through BHE, which generates and supplies power to consumers and businesses. Since the pandemic, Berkshire has loaded up on energy assets through acquisitions in BHE and large purchases of stocks like Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, making up about 9.4% of its $360 billion stock portfolio.

Abel views this as an opportunity for BHE, particularly in data centers. In Iowa, where BHE owns the MidAmerican Energy Company, 8% of the total demand last year came from data center customers. Abel emphasized that Berkshire is interested in working with hyperscalers, but there cannot be a negative impact on other customers' rates; in fact, there must be a benefit.