Canadian billionaire Kevin O’Leary says that he is betting big on artificial intelligence but is not buying technology stocks. Instead, for the next 36 months his focus will be on energy infrastructure, particularly electricity production and uranium, which he believes are critical to powering the AI revolution. According to a report by Benzinga, speaking on the Stock Sharks: The Deep End podcast, O’Leary explained that he is taking an indirect approach to AI investments. “I’m a picks and shovels guy,” he said. Rather than expanding his holdings in volatile tech equities, he prefers to invest in the backbone of AI — power generation. He pointed to energy stocks tied to natural gas, turbines, and uranium as the most promising plays.O’Leary highlighted a recent $3 billion deal in Finland where Google secured a long-term power contract from a local utility. He noted the deal had “nothing to do with AI” or data centers, but reflected how tech giants are prioritizing electricity as an independent asset.
Kevin O’Leary is betting big on AI
Speaking on the Stock Sharks: The Deep End podcast, O’Leary explained that rather than piling more money into individual AI tech names, he’s taking a more indirect approach to profiting from the AI boom — one centered on power generation instead of tech equities.He described himself as a “picks and shovels guy,” acknowledging that many people push him to increase his weighting in AI stocks, but pointing out how scattered and unpredictable that category of names really is. His preferred play instead: buying into everything involved in actually producing electricity, from natural gas to turbines, along with what he called his newest theme — uranium.
Tech giants are already making the same bet
To back up his thesis, O’Leary pointed to a recent $3 billion deal in Finland involving Google, in which the company agreed to purchase a long-term power contract from a local utility. He was quick to note that the deal had nothing to do with AI directly and didn’t even involve data centers — in his view, it’s simply proof that tech giants are treating energy access as a standalone strategic asset worth locking down early, independent of their AI ambitions.
Why nuclear power is central to the thesis
O’Leary argued that nuclear power will play a critical role in meeting the electricity demands of modern computing infrastructure, pointing specifically to small modular reactors as what he considers the cleanest and cheapest source of electricity available. He described these reactors as a primary technological driver for power generation over the next seven to eight years — and since they require uranium pellets to operate, that’s precisely where his uranium bet comes in.He summed up his overall thesis by saying the real trade right now isn’t AI itself, but energy.
Where he’s actually putting the money
Geographically, O’Leary said Canada holds a significant global advantage when it comes to energy commodities, specifically citing Saskatchewan’s uranium reserves. He said he’s concentrating his power-related investments in the Nordic countries and in Alberta, Canada — regions he singled out for their notably low electricity costs per kilowatt-hour, a factor he sees as increasingly critical as power-hungry AI infrastructure continues to scale globally.
