Key Points
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Apple is Berkshire’s largest stock position, but artificial intelligence (AI) is far from the reason why.
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Berkshire has aggressively built a position in Alphabet over the last year.
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In 2026 alone, Berkshire has invested $930 million into an under-the-radar software stock called Bending Spoons.
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Warren Buffett has a reputation for investing in businesses with recognizable brands, dependable cash flow, and durable competitive advantages. Although the legendary investor occasionally ventured into technology, he generally avoided businesses whose long-term prospects were difficult to predict.
That said, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) is entering a new chapter. Following Buffett’s retirement as CEO at the end of 2025, successor Greg Abel has overseen changes to Berkshire’s investment portfolio. Interestingly, some of the investment conglomerate’s notable positions now involve technology companies positioned to benefit from artificial intelligence (AI).
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Three businesses — Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Bending Spoons (NASDAQ: BSP) — represent approximately $114.4 billion, or 31.4%, of Berkshire’s estimated $364 billion investment portfolio.
Here’s what makes these investments interesting: None of these companies is a pure-play AI business. Instead, each company has established business models that could become more valuable as AI adoption accelerates.
Let’s examine what makes these companies attractive investments and how Berkshire’s positions have evolved.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel. Image source: Getty Images.
Apple: A longtime Buffett favorite with an AI option attached
Berkshire first started accumulating a stake in Apple in 2016. Buffett has praised Apple’s brand loyalty, supported by its installed base of billions of devices, which helps the company generate heaps of free cash flow year after year.
Berkshire has reduced its Apple investment over the last couple of years. After considerable selling between 2024 and 2025, the firm’s position has stabilized. According to Berkshire’s second-quarter 13F filing, the company owned 227.9 million Apple shares, now valued at $79.1 billion.
Apple’s appeal extends beyond AI. Its ecosystem of iPhones, Mac computers, wearable devices, and subscription services creates high-margin, recurring opportunities to monetize its global customer base.
Of course, AI can strengthen this ecosystem considerably. Through Apple Intelligence, the company is integrating generative AI capabilities into its devices and operating system. These features could encourage customers to upgrade their hardware while creating new opportunities to expand Apple’s services business.
While Apple doesn’t need to dominate the AI infrastructure market to benefit from the technology, it can use AI to make its existing products more valuable.
Alphabet: Berkshire’s largest technology investment of the Abel era
Berkshire initially purchased Alphabet stock during the third quarter of 2025, when Buffett was still CEO. Following his retirement, the Oracle of Omaha publicly acknowledged that he initiated the investment. However, the firm’s position in Alphabet has grown under Abel’s leadership.
During the first quarter of 2026, Berkshire increased its Alphabet stake from approximately 17.8 million shares to nearly 54 million. The buying continued during the second quarter following a $10 billion investment associated with Alphabet’s private placement. Berkshire’s position in Alphabet is valued at $33.8 billion, spread across 106 million shares in Class A and Class C.
Alphabet operates Google Search, YouTube, and Google Cloud. These properties collectively generate substantial revenue and cash flow for Alphabet and give the company several opportunities to monetize AI.
Although generative AI initially appeared to threaten Google’s advertising business, Alphabet has figured out how to incorporate AI-generated responses directly into its search experience. As a result, the company is now a legitimate competitor to query-heavy chatbots from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Meanwhile, Google Cloud is benefiting from companies seeking infrastructure for developing and deploying AI applications. Alphabet develops its own AI models (Gemini) and specialized computing chips (Tensor Processing Units), giving it opportunities to participate in multiple layers of the AI value stack.
To comprehend just how big of an opportunity cloud computing is becoming, consider that Google Cloud’s revenue grew 82% year over year to $24.8 billion during the second quarter. Meanwhile, the company boasted $514 billion in cloud backlog.
Although Alphabet remains an advertising and cloud computing business, AI is strengthening those operations rather than requiring investors to bet on the success of a single AI product.
Bending Spoons: A new investment in tech landscape
Berkshire’s investment in Bending Spoons might be its most unconventional technology bet. Unlike Apple and Alphabet, Bending Spoons isn’t a household name. The Italian company specializes in acquiring established digital businesses and improving their operations. Its portfolio includes recognizable brands such as Evernote, Vimeo, and AOL.
Berkshire initially invested $600 million in Bending Spoons during its initial public offering (IPO) in July. Earlier this month, Bending Spoons announced that Berkshire committed an additional $330 million through a private placement of 10 million shares priced at $33 per share. The investment increased Berkshire’s ownership stake to about 4%.
Bending Spoons’ strategy shares some similarities with Berkshire’s own philosophy of acquiring businesses. However, Bending Spoons adds an interesting technology-enabled component: The company leverages AI to help optimize its acquired businesses. Rather than competing with OpenAI or Anthropic, Bending Spoons deploys data-driven services across its existing product portfolio.
How to construct a portfolio in the AI revolution
These three investments illustrate an important distinction in the AI revolution: Investors do not need to own obvious AI names to benefit from AI adoption. Apple can use AI to strengthen its ecosystem, Alphabet can monetize AI through advertising and cloud services, and Bending Spoons can leverage the technology to improve its businesses’ profitability.
For Berkshire, the common thread stitching these positions together isn’t AI itself. It’s the potential for established businesses to generate even more cash as technology evolves.
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Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
