Why Did Regulators Block Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)’s AI Data Center Power Plan?

We recently published a list of 15 Trending AI Stocks on Latest Analyst Ratings and News. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stands against other trending AI stocks on the latest analyst ratings and news.

The AI Boom in Big Tech is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. This past week, artificial intelligence was the key focus for the Big Five, which together are valued at more than $10 trillion. The reporting season not only highlighted the push these big tech companies are making in AI investments but also demonstrated that they aren’t afraid to take it up any further than they already have. Previously, concerns regarding the returns from substantial AI investments had led to negative investor sentiment and even triggered a sell-off in major AI plays. However, some results are demonstrating that AI investments may be worth the wait.

READ ALSO: Top 10 Trending AI Stocks to Watch in November and Top 10 Trending AI Stocks in Q4.

“The AI theme is intact if you’re the mega caps,” as companies show that they can monetize their investments while maintaining existing profitability. As long as that infrastructure continues to be built, then we continue to be in a good place for the broader AI trade”.

– Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster.

That said, executives of the major AI plays have fair-warned that their AI splurges will continue next year. Tech giants are racing to secure high-end chips and build sprawling data centers, forging partnerships with energy providers and much more. Each company wants to prove to Wall Street that these investments will eventually lead to greater profitability as compared to their current businesses.

Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder at Constellation Research, believes that only a handful of technology names will be able to come out at the top, especially considering the high costs related to AI. This makes the situation quite favorable for well-capitalized companies.

The Latest Developments in AI

As companies ramp up their spending on AI, let’s take a closer look at how other AI players are advancing to make headlines. For starters, Perplexity, an AI conversational search engine that uses large language models to answer queries, has announced a dedicated hub for US general election information. Even though the AI-powered search engine has been seen to hallucinate from time to time, the company is keen on showing its trustworthiness when it comes to tracking election results.

“Starting Tuesday, we’ll be offering live updates on elections by leveraging data from The Associated Press so you can stay informed on presidential, senate, and house races at both a state and national level. Thank you to Democracy Works for granting us access to your Elections API to help power these experiences.”

-Perplexity.

The company’s election hub provides answers to election-related questions, as well as AI-generated analyses on ballot measures, policy stances, candidates, and endorsements.

In other news, Noma Security, a stealth mode startup specializing in Enterprise, Cyber Security, and Artificial Intelligence, is said to be developing tools to identify vulnerable data pipelines and code in data science environments, as well as threats like prompt injection attacks.

“Existing tools are designed for the traditional software lifecycle. However, the data and AI lifecycle is inherently different. It involves distinct R&D processes, relies on different technologies, and faces unique technical vulnerabilities within AI models.”

– CEO Niv Braun

Talking about the AI pioneer OpenAI, reports from Bloomberg state that the company is in talks with California’s attorney general’s office about the process of becoming a for-profit entity. While a shift to being a for-profit company would mark a drastic reversal in the governance structure for the company, the move would also make the firm more attractive to investors.

For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Why Did Regulators Block Amazon .com Inc (AMZN)'s AI Data Center Power Plan?

A customer entering an internet retail store, illustrating the convenience of online shopping.

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 308

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the largest online retailers and technology providers offering e-commerce, cloud computing, and services such as digital streaming and artificial intelligence solutions.

On Friday, November 1, U.S. energy regulators rejected a request to increase the amount of power the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania can dispatch to an Amazon data center campus. As technology companies continue to push for directly powering artificial intelligence with nuclear plants, this news serves to be a major roadblock. Back in March, independent power producer Talen Energy sold the data center campus to Amazon for $650 million, which would be powered by the nuclear plant.

According to the Members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agreement for increasing the capacity of the data center located on the site of Talen Energy’s Susquehanna nuclear-generating facility could raise power bills for the public and affect the grid’s reliability.

“Co-location arrangements of the type presented here present an array of complicated, nuanced and multifaceted issues, which collectively could have huge ramifications for both grid reliability and consumer costs”.

-FERC Commissioner Mark Christie

In a statement on Monday, November 4, Talen said FERC’s decision will have a “chilling effect on economic development in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. The power company said it is evaluating its options with a “focus on commercial solutions.”

Overall, AMZN ranks 1st on our list of trending AI stocks on the latest analyst ratings and news. While we acknowledge the potential of AMZN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.