At Abu Dhabi Finance Week, some of the world’s most influential investment leaders agreed on one thing: AI is transformative, but today’s valuations demand caution.
Tech giants like Alphabet, Meta, and Oracle have rushed into debt markets to fund massive AI buildouts — fueling concerns of a growing bubble. Yet, for long-term investors, AI infrastructure remains too important to ignore.
🔹 What Global Leaders Are Saying
Jenny Johnson, CEO, Franklin Templeton – “Early days of the gold rush”
Johnson compared the AI boom to a gold rush where the “picks and shovels” have simply become expensive.
“We haven’t even begun to see the impact of AI.”
Franklin Templeton manages $1.7 trillion in assets.
Stephen Schwarzman, CEO, Blackstone – Watch electricity demand
AI is reshaping every sector — but at a cost.
“We may need to double the size of our electricity grid.”
Blackstone oversees more than $1 trillion in assets.
Shiv Srinivasan, CIO (Public Markets), ADIC – Clear opportunity
Despite high valuations, ADIC remains bullish:
“I like AI and biotech… big winners.”
Chris Hohn, Founder, TCI – Big disruption, limited winners
Hohn warned that many AI-linked investments don’t make sense yet.
“Uncertainty and risk are off the charts.”
Raj Agrawal, Global Head of Real Assets, KKR – Data centres are the play
Agrawal sees the biggest opportunity in AI data centres, but warns against overpaying:
“Be cautious of big multiples that require fast growth.”
KKR manages $723B in assets.
Mubadala’s real assets chief echoed the sentiment: stick to fundamentals, not hype.
🔹 The Bottom Line
Investors see gold in AI, but the smart money is focusing on infrastructure, energy capacity, and disciplined valuations — not blind momentum chasing.