The AI Buildout Is Just Getting Started

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The Motley Fool

Business, Investing

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Token consumption grew 17 times last year — not 17%, 17 times. So why are some investors still underexposed to the biggest structural shift in a generation? Motley Fool Contributing Analyst Rachel Warren talks with Jay Jacobs, US Head of Equity ETFs at BlackRock, about the firm's 2026 Thematic Outlook: why the AI infrastructure boom is still in its infancy, how thematic ETFs can give retail investors more precise exposure than traditional sector funds, and what the rise of agentic AI, physical robotics, and tokenization means for your portfolio. Host: Rachel Warren Guest: Jay Jacobs Producers: Bart Shannon, Lauren Budabin Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement.We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Token consumption last year grew 17 times. Not 17% which I think most people would view as a pretty good
0:09.9	growth company, 17 times growth of token consumption. Essentially, as much money as the major
0:16.4	large language model providers are plowing into capital expenditures, they can keep up with AI demand.
0:22.9	So even just in the last several months, I think the narrative has shifted in the market
0:26.5	from that of we worried companies are over-investing in CAPEX to what if companies are actually
0:31.7	under-investing in CAP-X?
0:43.9	That was BlackRock's U.S. head of equity ETFs, Jay Jacobs, breaking down what the data actually says about AI's growth trajectory. I'm Motley full analyst Rachel Warren.
0:49.0	I sat down with Jay to dig into BlackRock's newly released 26 them Thematic Outlook, covering everything from the AI
0:55.4	infrastructure buildout to tokenization to what retail investors should be doing with their
1:00.2	portfolios right now. Enjoy. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Motleyful Conversations. I'm
1:07.2	Motleyful analyst Rachel Warren, and today I'm excited to welcome Jay Jacobs, the U.S. head of
1:11.7	equity ETFs at BlackRock to the show. Jay oversees the overall product strategy, thought
1:16.5	leadership, and client engagement for the firm's index and active equity ETF business. Prior to his
1:21.9	current role, Jay founded and led Global X ETFs research and strategy team and previously served as a business analyst at the New York Stock Exchange,
1:29.6	where he helped launch hundreds of ETFs on the NYSC-Arca trading platform.
1:34.5	Today we're going to be diving deep into the massive structural shifts shaping the global economy,
1:39.2	with Black Rock's newly released, 2006 Thematic Outlook, which details how the next leg of AI compute is
1:45.9	colliding with physical power grid bottlenecks, surging sovereign defense spending, and a massive
1:51.6	wave of real-world asset tokenization. Jay, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me on.
1:58.1	So as you as head of equity ETFs, from your standpoint, I would love to hear your thoughts
2:03.7	on how the view of a traditional portfolio has changed now that thematic funds have grown
2:10.0	over 11x just in the past decade.
	...

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