Global asset giant BlackRock is doubling down on the infrastructure play in AI's gold rush era. Rather than chasing flashy AI application developers, they're zeroing in on the companies building the rails—the data centers, chip manufacturers, and cloud infrastructure providers that power the entire ecosystem. This "picks and shovels" approach identifies a handful of obvious beneficiaries positioned to capture value as AI spending explodes across industries. While everyone else speculates on which AI startup will dominate, smart money is quietly stacking positions in the unglamorous backbone that makes it all possible.