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Empowering Intelligence
​

Ankur Crawford's Photo

Dr. Ankur Crawford;

Executive Vice President
Portfolio Manager

Patrick Kelly's Photo

Patrick Kelly, CFA;

Executive Vice President
Portfolio Manager

Discover how Generative AI is revolutionizing data use in our economy, and the critical role of data centers in this transformation. Explore certain industry challenges and potential growth prospects amid rising AI-induced electricity demand.

​Empowering Intelligence: Data Centers and AI​​​​​
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technological leap forward in our use of data that touches every aspect of our economy. As we think through the secondary effects of such a change, we expect to see impacts that extend beyond technology. The increase in data generation driven by AI has transformed information processing and storage, leading to greater demand for computing power. Data centers, vital for processing large AI datasets, now face the critical challenge of meeting the escalating needs caused by this demand.

​Data Centers are Critical to AI​​​​​
AI is quickly becoming table stakes for modern technologies, fueling applications like virtual assistants, optimization, and cybersecurity. In order to support these data-hungry applications, data centers become critical for AI programs to access vast reservoirs of information. Notably, generative AI, exemplified by large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT, relies on substantial training data to produce high-quality text, images, and music. Data centers offer a robust framework for the vast quantum of data AI applications churn out. To serve AI, data centers employ high-performance computing clusters, comprised of numerous servers interconnected through swift networks which enable parallel processing, speeding up training durations. To ensure the seamless operation of the embedded hardware, data centers are fitted with tailored power and cooling systems. Growth of these systems, in our view, will be critical to support the seemingly boundless demand for AI applications.
​
The surge in data generation spawned by AI has revolutionized how we handle, store, process, and transfer information. Data centers, offering large scale server farms, make it possible to bring AI to market accessibly, at a more reasonable cost. However, in order to build out the next generation resources, the tech-industry must grapple with a persistent and looming challenge: ensuring sufficient power to data centers.

Utilities – an AI Beneficiary?​​​
One of the most exciting aspects of recent growth in AI is the impact on seemingly orthogonal industries such as utilities infrastructure. As demand for AI capabilities grows, the addition of GPUs which are highly efficient computer chips designed for​ processing AI tasks, could meaningfully increase power demands due to their high energy consumption. As can be seen in Figure 1 below, the percentage of electricity consumption in the U.S. driven by data center demand is likely to increase from an estimated 3% in 2023 to close to 10% in 2030.

Data Center as a % of Electricity Consumption in the United States


As a result, utilities will have to invest in their infrastructure to satisfy this new demand. We estimate that U.S. Electricity Utility Capital Expenditures (Capex) could grow from $160B in 2023 to nearly to $200B by 2030. We believe this growth in utility capex will be driven by new capex spend, as seen in Figure 2 below.

US Electric Utility Maintenance Capex versus New Capex


In our view, this increase in capex spend will feed through to increased demand for employees, which in turn will support consumer demand, driving GDP growth and leading to an even stronger requirement for AI capabilities. We see companies like Quanta Services, a premier provider of specialty infrastructure solutions, as particularly well-placed to capitalize on this trend. With utility capex on the rise due to grid modernization, we believe Quanta’s specialization in electric power transmission and distribution aligns them with key opportunities in this ongoing upgrade cycle.
​
​A Virtuous Cycle for the Economy?
In short, we believe that as AI continues to make strides in technological advancements, its reliance on data centers is undeniable. These centers not only provide the necessary computational power but also contend with the challenges of energy consumption and effective cooling solutions. As AI tasks intensify, innovative approaches to energy and cooling will be paramount so data centers can sustainably support the seemingly exponential demand for AI computing. What does this mean for the broader economy? In our view, the development of AI is set to potentially be an engine of growth not only for AI companies themselves, but also for the industries required to support their growth. Given this dynamic, we believe that this growth could be self-reinforcing, creating a virtuous cycle that may significantly benefit the broader U.S. economy.




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The views expressed are the views of Fred Alger Management, LLC (“FAM”) and its affiliates as of December ​2023. These views are subject to change at any time and may not represent the views of all portfolio management teams. These views should not be interpreted as a guarantee of the future performance of the markets, any security or any funds managed by FAM. These views are not meant to provide investment advice and should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell securities.

Risk Disclosures: Investing in the stock market involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. Growth stocks may be more volatile than other stocks as their prices tend to be higher in relation to their companies’ earnings and may be more sensitive to market, political, and economic developments. Local, regional or global events such as environmental or natural disasters, war, terrorism, pandemics, outbreaks of infectious diseases and similar public health threats, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on investments. Foreign securities involve special risks including currency fluctuations, inefficient trading, political and economic instability, and increased volatility. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Investors whose reference currency differs from that in which the underlying assets are invested may be subject to exchange rate movements that alter the value of their investments. Investing in innovation is not without risk and there is no guarantee that investments in research and development will result in a company gaining market share or achieving enhanced revenue. Companies exploring new technologies may face regulatory, political or legal challenges that may adversely impact their competitive positioning and financial prospects. Also, developing technologies to displace older technologies or create new markets may not in fact do so, and there may be sector specific risks as well. As is the case with any industry, there will be winners and losers that emerge and investors therefore need to conduct a significant amount of due diligence on individual companies to assess these risks and opportunities.

Important Information for US Investors: This material must be accompanied by the most recent fund fact sheet(s) if used in connection with the sale of mutual fund and ETF shares. Fred Alger & Company, LLC serves as distributor of the Alger mutual funds.

Important Information for UK and EU Investors:This material is directed at investment professionals and qualified investors (as defined by MiFID/FCA regulations). It is for information purposes only and has been prepared and is made available for the benefit investors. This material does not constitute an offer or solicitation to any person in any jurisdiction in which it is not authorized or permitted, or to anyone who would be an unlawful recipient, and is only intended for use by original recipients and addressees. The original recipient is solely responsible for any actions in further distributing this material and should be satisfied in doing so that there is no breach of local legislation or regulation.

Certain products may be subject to restrictions with regard to certain persons or in certain countries under national regulations applicable to such persons or countries.

Alger Management, Ltd. (85 Gresham Street, Suite 308, London EC2V 7NQ, UK) is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Au¬thority, for the distribution of regulated financial products and services. FAM and/or Weatherbie Capital, LLC, U.S. registered investment advisors, serve as sub-portfolio manager to financial products distributed by Alger Management, Ltd.

Important information for Investors in Israel: This material is provided in Israel only to investors of the type listed in the first schedule of the Securities Law, 1968 (the “Securities Law”) and the Regulation of Investment Advice, Investment Marketing and Investment Portfolio Management Law, 1995. The Fund units will not be sold to investors who are not of the type listed in the first schedule of the Securities Law.

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is an association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Members of the Edison Electric Institute are investor-owned utility companies, meaning that they are privately held companies that supply power and electricity to businesses and consumers.

The following positions represent the noted percentages of Alger assets under management as of September 30, 2023: Quanta Services Inc. 0.29%; OpenAI 0.00%. ​

Alger pays compensation to third party marketers to sell various strategies to prospective investors.

Fre​d Alger & Company, LLC​ / ​100 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10004 / www.alger.com​​ ​/ 212.806.8800
​

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ETF Investors

This ETF is different from traditional ETFs.

Traditional ETFs tell the public what assets they hold each day. This ETF will not. This may create additional risks for your investment. Specifically:

You may have to pay more money to trade the ETF’s shares. This ETF will provide less information to traders, who tend to charge more for trades when they have less information.

The price you pay to buy ETF shares on an exchange may not match the value of the ETF’s portfolio. The same is true when you sell shares. These price differences may be greater for this ETF compared to other ETFs because it provides less information to traders.

These additional risks may be even greater in bad or uncertain market conditions.

The differences between this ETF and other ETFs may also have advantages. By keeping certain information about the ETF confidential, this ETF may face less risk that other traders can predict or copy its investment strategy. This may improve the ETF’s performance. If other traders are able to copy or predict the ETF’s investment strategy, however, this may hurt the ETF’s performance. For additional information regarding the unique attributes and risks of this ETF, please refer to the prospectus.

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