AI is turning energy into the hottest business in America

Axios Axios —

The AI boom is pushing companies across the economy — from tech giants to automakers — deep into the energy business.

Why it matters: The scramble for electricity has become the gold rush beneath the AI boom, creating enormous financial value and enormous risk if demand falls short.

Driving the news: Electricity — long treated as a cheap, abundant commodity — is suddenly emerging as one of the most valuable strategic assets in business.

  • "Everyone to some extent is either dependent on energy as a core input or they see energy as a huge opportunity," said Brian Janous, who was Microsoft's first energy hire 15 years ago and is now co-founder of data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure.

The latest: Ford https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2026/introducing-ford-energy" target="_blank">unveiled earlier this month its https://www.axios.com/2026/05/20/automakers-suppliers-growth-ai-defense" target="_blank">expansion into energy storage for data centers and other large power users.

  • It launched a new subsidiary called Ford Energy in response to what it calls "the massive demand for domestic energy storage."

Follow the money: Investors are increasingly rewarding companies pivoting to — or doubling down on — the power behind the AI boom.

A few recent highlights:

"The energy behind the [artificial] intelligence is invisible to most people, but it's enormous," said Andy Power, president and CEO of Digital Realty, one of the world's largest and most established data center companies.

  • "But this isn't new for those of us who've been building digital infrastructure for more than 20 years," Power said in a statement to Axios. "What's new is the pace.

    Utilities are inundated with applications for power and doing triage on who's real."

Reality check: Beneath the surging stock prices, trouble is mounting.

Opposition to data centers is intensifying rapidly, and some of the biggest projects may never come to fruition.

Friction point: The number of data centers canceled after pushback reached a record high in the first quarter of this year, https://heatmap.news/politics/local-opposition-data-center-cancellations" target="_blank">according to data by Heatmap Pro.

  • The canceled projects accounted for more than $40 billion in investment, the analysis found.
  • "It's getting a lot worse," Janous said about the opposition, sounding far more negative than he did in https://www.axios.com/2026/02/18/ai-energy-cloverleaf-takeover-deal" target="_blank">an Axios interview from February.

    He cited community concerns about water use, air pollution and noise as top worries.

Between the lines: Every gold rush creates problems — and new businesses.

The AI power boom is now spawning a generation of startups building products for data centers, some of which could help address community concerns.

How it works: Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta https://www.axios.com/2026/05/27/tech-giants-data-center-climate-initiative" target="_blank">are teaming up with nonprofit investor Elemental Impact to accelerate new technologies using data centers as test cases.

  • Those technologies include advanced cooling, energy storage and low-carbon building materials.

What we're watching: If these startups scale, some could help address concerns surrounding data centers, particularly around water use and air pollution.

The bottom line: For decades, energy was an input.

In the AI era, it's becoming the product.

Read full article at Axios →

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