Buffett’s Berkshire made these boring AI bets years before AI took off | Here’s what it owns

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has long invested in power infrastructure, crucial for AI's electricity needs. While the company is not a direct AI player, it benefits from the growing demand for electricity to support data centers

Warren Buffett became famous for staying away from the hottest corners of the market, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). But much before AI became a thing, Berkshire Hathaway took a position that would make it benefit from one of AI’s biggest and least glamorous requirements. The sector is electricity!

The investment is certainly not a fresh bet on AI. Berkshire’s exposure to the power infrastructure AI needs predated today’s AI boom, showing how Buffett’s pick for essential businesses intersects with technology industry trends.

AI data centres require enormous amounts of electricity to train and run powerful models. Now, as technology companies race to expand their computing capacity, power demand is becoming an essential part of the AI investment story. And that makes Berkshire’s energy businesses interesting.

Here's a look at some of Berkshire’s energy businesses:

The company owns major utility operations, including MidAmerican Energy and NV Energy. These businesses stand to benefit as data centres increase electricity consumption.

Berkshire’s Iowa utility business is already seeing data centres become a meaningful part of its electricity load. Berkshire CEO Greg Abel, who took over from Buffett in 2025, said during Berkshire’s annual conference in May that 8% of Berkshire’s energy load in Iowa came from data centers last year.

The AI revolution is also creating oppotunities beyond electricity generation itself. For example, Berkshire owns Precision Castparts, a manufacturer of components used in aircraft engines and other industrial applications. Its businesses can benefit from the broader investment required to expand power-generation capacity.