A new report from Bain & Company projects that the global artificial intelligence market will need to generate $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2031 to justify the massive capital expenditures flowing into compute infrastructure. The firm's 7th annual Global Technology Report highlights a structural shift: hardware and specialized infrastructure are outpacing traditional software growth.
To close the multi-trillion-dollar gap, compute demand is moving toward custom silicon, advanced semiconductor packaging, and physical automation. Investors looking beyond mega-cap software names may find opportunities in three under-the-radar companies that are direct beneficiaries of this trend.
Astera Labs (ALAB)
As data center campuses expand to multi-gigawatt footprints, bottlenecks have shifted from raw processing power to high-speed data connectivity. Astera Labs specializes in connectivity solutions, including PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet retimers and switches designed for AI and cloud infrastructure.
Hyperscalers are scaling custom ASICs alongside GPUs, and these heterogeneous compute clusters require ultra-low latency, high-bandwidth interconnects to keep nodes synchronized. Bain's report notes that hardware and semiconductor components are growing at a 24% compound annual rate, placing Astera Labs at the critical nexus of rack-level AI architecture. The company is positioned as a high-margin, indispensable player in the global data center expansion, with Wall Street consensus rating the stock Overweight.
Camtek (CAMT)
The compute demand identified in Bain's research relies heavily on advanced semiconductor manufacturing techniques, particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and 2.5D/3D packaging. Camtek Ltd is a leading provider of automated optical inspection (AOI) and metrology equipment for the advanced packaging and semiconductor backend market.
Before high-density AI chips can be deployed in mission-critical servers, advanced packaging requires rigorous yield inspection to detect microscopic interconnect defects. As foundry and memory makers aggressively scale HBM3e and HBM4 capacity to relieve supply bottlenecks, Camtek provides essential quality enforcement gear to ensure high production yields. This gives the company strong recurring hardware revenue exposure, and Wall Street currently rates Camtek at Overweight.
Symbotic (SYM)
Bain's report emphasizes that expanding AI revenue beyond basic employee productivity requires physical AI, industrial automation, and real-world autonomous deployment. Symbotic is an enterprise AI supply chain automation leader that integrates artificial intelligence with advanced robotics to orchestrate large-scale automated distribution centers.
Its proprietary AI software dynamically controls autonomous mobile fleets that optimize inventory density, speed, and warehouse throughput for major retail and logistics giants. As enterprise buyers seek tangible return on investment from physical AI implementations, Symbotic's end-to-end automated platform turns complex algorithm innovation into structural operational efficiency, making it a compelling play on the physical AI boom. Wall Street analysts have a consensus Overweight rating on the Nasdaq-listed firm.
These three companies illustrate the broader shift from software-centric AI to the underlying hardware and automation infrastructure. As the industry races toward the $6 trillion revenue target, investors may find that the most explosive upside lies in the less visible enablers of the AI revolution.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
