Key Points
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Vertiv’s liquid-cooling systems and Nvidia-certified units address the heat problem every AI data center creates, regardless of which model wins.
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Quanta Services builds the transmission and substation infrastructure utilities need, with a backlog that gives steady earnings visibility.
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GE Vernova’s turbines and grid gear, plus its $5 billion in year-to-date data center orders, show demand spans the whole power ecosystem.
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Anthropic and OpenAI are planning to go public and expand AI capacity. But regardless of which company wins more users, all of that AI still has to run somewhere. That’s where Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT), Quanta Services (NYSE: PWR), and GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) come in, providing the infrastructure that makes it possible.
Vertiv: AI needs cooling no matter who wins
AI data centers are generating more heat than ever, making cooling infrastructure that much more important. Vertiv is tackling that issue by expanding its manufacturing capacity for advanced cooling systems, including liquid-cooling technology for data centers. The company is also expanding its testing capabilities so customers can validate cooling systems before deploying them.
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More recently, Vertiv’s 2.3-megawatt coolant distribution unit became the first to qualify as Nvidia DSX Ready, giving AI factory builders another option for deploying advanced cooling systems.
Vertiv doesn’t need to predict which AI model provider wins. Whether it’s Anthropic or OpenAI, data centers would need to be built, and these data centers will require massive cooling infrastructure.
Plus, Vertiv is selling that infrastructure as a complete solution. Its partnership with Generate Capital, for example, combines power and cooling equipment with financing, infrastructure, and ownership models, helping data center operators overcome grid limitations and bring capacity online faster.
But cooling is only one piece of the puzzle. Another company is helping address the power bottleneck data centers face.
Quanta Services: Building the power infrastructure for AI
The AI boom is creating a very practical problem: Data centers can be designed long before the surrounding power infrastructure is ready. That infrastructure needs to be built to bring those data centers online, and that’s where Quanta Services comes into the picture.
The company provides infrastructure services across transmission lines, substations, and electrical connections. Its recent results show how strongly it’s benefiting from the infrastructure build-out, with record performance and a large backlog providing visibility into future work.
Specifically, Quanta says that demand for new transmission, substations, and distribution infrastructure remains strong, with data centers and other technology-related demand as the key drivers. Meanwhile, its Enerfab acquisition directly expands its data center footprint, giving it stronger capabilities to build electrical systems for data centers.
But if Quanta builds the infrastructure needed to deliver electricity, someone has to provide the equipment to generate and manage all that power.
GE Vernova: The power behind the AI supercycle
GE Vernova sits across much of the power ecosystem, from gas turbines and grid equipment to electrification technology. That positioning is becoming more valuable as data centers drive up electricity demand and utilities look for ways to ramp up capacity.
For example, the company says data center orders have already exceeded $5 billion year to date, more than doubling the prior year’s total. Meanwhile, its gas power business continues to see strong demand as customers seek reliable power generation. On top of that, GE Vernova introduced a medium-voltage UPS designed for AI factories, providing data centers with a reliable way to secure the power required for intensive AI workloads.
Its gas turbines also provide another alternative power source when the traditional grid can’t move quickly enough. The company is promoting systems that combine onsite generation, grid connections, and batteries, allowing data centers to bring electricity online faster.
As data centers demand more compute capacity, power will only get scarcer, and GE Vernova stands to benefit no matter which AI company wins the race.
That staying power, across cooling, power delivery, and power generation, is what ties these three companies together as the AI build-out accelerates.
The AI arms race needs these industrial players
Anthropic and OpenAI are seeking to become the leading AI companies, but their growth depends on the same physical infrastructure.
Quanta Services appears to be the safer play, with the most diversified revenue base and a large backlog that gives the clearest earnings visibility. GE Vernova sits in the middle, pairing its own backlog and diversified power equipment lineup with the bigger swings that come from scaling turbines and grid gear fast enough to meet demand. Vertiv is the highest-risk, highest-reward option of the three, since its results are most directly tied to the speed at which AI data centers are built.
As Anthropic and OpenAI advance toward their public debuts, the infrastructure bill keeps climbing, and Vertiv, Quanta, and GE Vernova are positioned to keep cashing in no matter which AI model comes out on top.
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Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends GE Vernova, Nvidia, Quanta Services, and Vertiv. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
