The Data Center Plumbing Stock Riding the AI Gold Rush

Author

Noah Zelvis
January 27, 2026

AI spending has a funny way of turning into a hardware scavenger hunt.

First it is chips, then it is power, then it is cooling, then it is networking, then it is the boring little connectors that suddenly become the bottleneck.

This company is underlying the data-center that helps GPUs and servers talk to each other at full speed.

Think First (Sponsored)

Many investment banks just raised their targets to $6,000/oz... mere weeks after predicting $5,000. Even Jim Cramer now admits to being a "gold bug."

But nearly everyone is missing an even bigger story: the absolute best way to invest in gold right now.

Never Miss Our Top Tech Recommendations Again!

We now send our tech picks via text, too, so you’ll get the same tech breakout news without having to open your inbox.

Cloud Infrastructure

Microsoft Stops Renting Inference Power And Builds It

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has officially launched Maia 200, a custom AI accelerator focused on inference, the everyday work of running trained models at scale.

Built on TSMC’s advanced 3-nanometer process, the chip is engineered to support real products such as Copilot, Azure AI services, and internal superintelligence workloads.

Rather than chasing training headlines, Maia 200 targets efficiency, density, and reliability, the unglamorous bottlenecks that decide cloud margins and user experience.

Why Maia 200 Changes Microsoft’s AI Economics

Maia 200 delivers massive low-precision compute paired with high bandwidth memory, allowing Microsoft to serve more AI requests per rack with less overhead.

That directly improves performance per dollar, a key lever as AI usage explodes across enterprise and consumer software.

By owning inference silicon, Microsoft reduces dependence on external accelerators while tuning hardware specifically for its software stack and deployment patterns.

The Quiet Shift Toward Vertical AI Control

Maia 200 is already running production models inside Microsoft data centers, with deployment timelines compressed dramatically compared to prior infrastructure builds.

That speed matters as AI features roll out continuously across Microsoft 365, Azure, and developer platforms.

This chip is not about flash. It is about control, cost discipline, and turning AI from an expense line into a scalable business engine.

Social Media

Meta Starts Turning Social Apps Into Paid Power Tools

Meta (NASDAQ: META) is preparing to test premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, signaling a shift toward monetizing advanced features instead of relying only on ads.

The plan keeps core experiences free, while layering optional tools focused on productivity, creativity, and deeper control over how users connect.

Each app will test its own bundle, allowing Meta to experiment quickly and refine what users are actually willing to pay for.

AI Is The Real Subscription Hook

At the center of these tests is Manus, the AI agent Meta recently acquired, which will be scaled across its apps while also being sold separately to businesses.

Meta is also moving AI creation tools like Vibes toward a freemium model, where usage limits encourage subscriptions for heavier creators.

This approach lets Meta turn AI from a background feature into a direct revenue engine.

Why This Matters For Meta’s Business Model

Subscriptions diversify Meta’s revenue beyond advertising and smooth out cycles tied to ad demand.

Paid AI features also create a clearer path to monetizing compute-heavy workloads without flooding feeds with ads.

If successful, Meta could reshape social platforms into hybrid products that blend free discovery with paid intelligence and creator tools.

Repeat Pattern (Sponsored)

$1,000 in just seven stocks in 2004 could have turned into a million-dollar portfolio today…

Back then… one financial expert begged people to look at Nvidia -- when it was trading at just $1.10!

Now… he’s urging you to look at a new group of seven stocks…

Check this Out (The NEXT Magnificent Seven)  

Mobility Platforms

Uber Builds The Data Engine Behind The Robotaxi Boom

Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) has launched a new division, AV Labs, focused on collecting large-scale, real-world driving data for autonomous vehicle partners.

Instead of building robotaxis itself, Uber is using its global footprint to gather the one thing every self-driving company needs more of: edge-case data from real streets.

The company will deploy sensor-equipped vehicles across cities to capture complex driving scenarios that simulations still struggle to reproduce.

Why Data Now Matters More Than Hardware

Autonomous systems are shifting away from rigid rule-based logic toward reinforcement learning, where progress depends on massive volumes of diverse driving data.

Fleet size has become a hard ceiling for most robotaxi developers, limiting how fast their models can improve.

Uber’s AV Labs helps break that ceiling by providing curated, structured data that partners can use directly to refine perception, planning, and decision-making systems.

Uber’s Strategic Bet On The AV Stack

Rather than charging upfront, Uber is positioning AV Labs as ecosystem infrastructure that accelerates partner progress while keeping Uber central to future autonomous deployments.

The approach mirrors how Uber inserted itself between riders and drivers, now reimagined for AI-powered transportation.

If autonomous fleets scale, Uber stands to benefit without owning vehicles, shouldering hardware risk, or rebuilding autonomy from scratch.

Poll: You’re handed a wad of cash. Which amount would make you pause before spending?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Recent Tech Movers

Samsara (NYSE: IOT)
The Internet of Things, But Make It Blue Collar
Samsara is basically the ops dashboard for the real world: fleets, warehouses, job sites, safety, maintenance, the stuff that breaks at 2 a.m. and costs real money.

The pitch is simple and it sells well in a weird economy: fewer accidents, less fuel waste, less downtime, and better productivity without hiring 50 extra people.

If you want software exposure that is not purely vibes and ad clicks, this one is tied to measurable pain points.

The risk is always macro and churn. If customers get stingy, even useful tools get scrutinized. But the category is sticky once you wire it into daily operations.

GitLab (NASDAQ: GTLB)
The Dev Tool That Gets Paid When Teams Panic Ship
When companies say they are going all-in on AI, what they often mean is they are about to ship code faster and break more things in new and exciting ways.

GitLab sits right in that workflow: build, test, secure, deploy, repeat, and pray. The appeal is consolidation.

Instead of buying a dozen tools and duct-taping them, teams want one platform that covers more of the lifecycle.

GitLab can benefit if security gets bundled earlier in dev work and if AI-assisted coding expands the amount of code being produced.

The bear case is competitive pressure and budget fatigue. Dev tools are popular until procurement shows up with a spreadsheet and a machete.

Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU)
Streaming’s Chaos Broker
Roku is the Switzerland of TV streaming. It does not need to win the content wars. It just needs everyone else to keep fighting them.

As ad dollars move from cable to streaming, Roku tries to be the toll booth on the viewing experience, especially as more TV becomes ad-supported again.

The story is messy because advertising is cyclical and the platform world is crowded, but that is also why it is interesting. If the ad market wakes up, Roku can move fast.

If it stays sleepy, you get choppy quarters and investor mood swings. This is not a set-it-and-forget-it stock. It is more like a watchlist relationship that texts you at midnight.

Stand Ready (Sponsored)

They mocked your values and expected everyday Americans to stay financially exposed.

Now the dollar faces pressure, global conflicts threaten stability, and inflation quietly eats away at savings.

Doing nothing is exactly what powerful interests are counting on as uncertainty grows.

This Patriot’s Tax Shield explains how real, physical gold can help defend wealth during political and economic disruption.

A free Wealth Protection Guide reveals how Trump’s agenda could impact gold and why timing matters now.

Click here to get the FREE Wealth Protection Guide now.

The Long Pick

Astera Labs (NASDAQ: ALAB)

Why This Name Is Working
Astera sells the high-speed connectivity gear that helps modern data centers run at full tilt. Think of it as the traffic cop and highway engineer for data moving between GPUs, CPUs, memory, and storage.

In an AI buildout, the obvious bottleneck is compute. The sneakier bottleneck is data movement.

If the pipes are too small or too slow, those expensive chips end up waiting around like someone buffering a 12-second video in 2026. Nobody wants that.

Scorecard You Can Use

  • AI buildout tailwind: More GPUs in racks usually means more demand for faster connectivity.

  • Bottleneck business model: When performance matters, customers pay up to remove friction.

  • Picks-and-shovels exposure: You are not betting on one model or one app, you are betting on the infrastructure wave.

Why the Tape Cares

  • AI is bandwidth-hungry: Training and inference are not just compute problems. They are data transport problems.

  • Data centers are optimizing everything: As spending grows, buyers get ruthless about efficiency. The winners sell solutions that boost utilization.

  • The market loves enablers: Flashy AI stories come and go, but enabling hardware tends to stay relevant as long as the buildout continues.

What Could Spook It

  • Customer concentration: If a small number of giant buyers matter a lot, sentiment can swing on one delayed order.

  • Competition and pricing: Infrastructure is a knife fight. Big players do not hand out market share as party favors.

  • Cycle whiplash: If AI capex slows even temporarily, these stocks can re-rate fast.

What To Watch Next

  • Design wins and partnerships: Any signal that major platform builders are standardizing around the tech.

  • Revenue visibility: Backlog and commentary that suggests demand is not just one-quarter fireworks.

  • AI capex tone: If hyperscalers keep spending, the plumbing names stay on the guest list.

Actionable Take

  • Builders: Treat it like an infrastructure compounder. Size it smaller than a mega-cap, add on pullbacks, and give it time.

  • Traders: This category can rip and dip on headlines. Use levels, not hope. If it breaks trend, do not argue with the chart.

Bottom Line: If you think AI keeps expanding from a software story into a full-blown infrastructure arms race, the unglamorous data-center plumbing names can keep getting paid.

This one is not the loudest stock at the party, but it may be the one keeping the music on.

Everything Else

  • 🥽 Meta just took another trim to Reality Labs, and the vibe is turning into a full-on VR winter where the only thing getting immersive is the cost-cutting spreadsheet.

  • 💸 The debate over Musk’s trillion payday is back, and it is basically a reminder that CEO comp has entered its “add more zeros” era.

  • 🧠 Nvidia lost a longtime board member, and the board shuffle is a good reminder that even the AI kingmakers do spring cleaning.

  • ⚖️ The SEC went with case dismissed for Gemini’s crypto lending saga, which is about as rare as a happy ending in crypto court.

  • ✈️ Airlines are split on whether Starlink is must-have Wi-Fi or a pricey perk, because nothing says modern travel like paying extra to doomscroll at 35,000 feet.

That's our coverage for today; thanks for reading! Reply to this email with feedback or any tech stocks you want me to check out.

Best Regards,
—Noah Zelvis
Tech Stock Insider