Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled significant developments at CES 2026, announcing that production has begun on Rubin, the company’s next-generation six-chip AI platform designed to succeed the widely-adopted Blackwell architecture. While the tech industry buzzed about faster chip specifications, hedge fund manager Eric Jackson argues that investors are missing the real story behind Nvidia’s announcement.
Jackson, known for influencing retail trading rallies, contends that the most critical takeaway from Huang’s keynote isn’t about incremental chip improvements. Instead, he emphasizes that AI infrastructure is being built at utility scale, comparable to electricity grids or telecommunications networks, designed to operate for decades rather than years. “Most people watched NVIDIA’s CES keynote and heard ‘faster chips,’” Jackson explained. “That wasn’t the message. The real takeaway was this: AI factories are now being planned years in advance — at the land, power, and shell level.”
This perspective reframes AI development from experimental technology to fundamental infrastructure that will underpin everyday life. Jackson noted that conversations at both CES and the JPMorgan conference revealed that “AI factories are being planned like utilities — not experiments,” fundamentally changing the growth trajectory of the industry.
The investor invoked the Jevons Paradox, a 19th-century economic principle introduced by economist William Stanley Jevons regarding coal consumption. The paradox suggests that when a resource becomes more efficient to use, consumption actually increases rather than decreases. Applied to AI, Jackson argues that as AI production becomes more efficient, it will unlock new use cases and drive greater demand, not less.
Jackson criticized the market’s fixation on potential capital expenditure slowdowns, arguing this concern “misses the point.” He believes that as inference, AI agents, and long-context workloads continue compounding, power infrastructure becomes increasingly valuable and monetizable over extended periods.
This thesis has strengthened Jackson’s bullish position on small-cap tech stocks including Hut 8, IREN, and Cipher Mining—companies positioned to benefit from the growing demand for reliable power and infrastructure in an AI-driven economy. Jackson concluded by reframing the investment question from “Is AI demand peaking?” to “Who can deliver reliable power and uptime as AI becomes permanent?”
Key Quotes
Most people watched NVIDIA’s CES keynote and heard ‘faster chips.’ That wasn’t the message. The real takeaway was this: AI factories are now being planned years in advance — at the land, power, and shell level.
Hedge fund manager Eric Jackson emphasized that investors are focusing on the wrong aspects of Nvidia’s announcement. Rather than incremental chip improvements, the significant development is that AI infrastructure is being planned with the same long-term, utility-scale approach as electricity grids.
The CES + JPM conversations made it clear: AI factories are being planned like utilities — not experiments. That changes the slope.
Jackson highlighted insights from both the Consumer Electronics Show and JPMorgan conference, arguing that the industry’s shift toward treating AI as permanent infrastructure rather than experimental technology fundamentally alters the growth trajectory and investment thesis.
The market’s obsession with ‘capex slowing’ misses the point. If inference + agents + long-context workloads are compounding, power becomes monetizable for longer, not shorter.
Jackson challenged the prevailing market concern about potential slowdowns in capital expenditure, arguing that as AI applications expand and compound, the power infrastructure supporting them becomes increasingly valuable over extended timeframes.
Most investors still ask: ‘Is AI demand peaking?’ The better question now is: Who can deliver reliable power and uptime as AI becomes permanent?
Jackson reframed the fundamental investment question, suggesting that concerns about peak AI demand are misguided. Instead, investors should focus on identifying companies capable of providing the reliable infrastructure necessary for AI’s permanent integration into the economy.
Our Take
Jackson’s analysis offers a compelling counter-narrative to growing market skepticism about AI investment sustainability. By invoking the Jevons Paradox, he provides historical economic precedent for why efficiency gains drive increased consumption rather than decreased demand. This perspective is particularly relevant as we see AI inference costs dropping while deployment accelerates across industries. The focus on power infrastructure and uptime as the critical bottleneck is astute—as AI becomes ubiquitous, reliable electricity and cooling capacity may prove more valuable than cutting-edge chips. This thesis also explains why hyperscalers continue massive infrastructure investments despite efficiency improvements. Jackson’s positioning in small-cap power and mining companies suggests he’s betting on a multi-decade infrastructure buildout comparable to the electrification of the 20th century. If correct, this represents one of the most significant investment opportunities of the coming decades, with implications extending far beyond traditional tech stocks.
Why This Matters
This analysis represents a fundamental shift in how the investment community should view AI development. Rather than treating AI as a cyclical technology trend subject to boom-and-bust cycles, Jackson’s perspective positions it as permanent infrastructure comparable to electricity or telecommunications—sectors that have generated sustained returns over decades.
The implications are profound for both AI chip manufacturers like Nvidia and the broader ecosystem of companies providing supporting infrastructure. If AI factories are indeed being planned with multi-decade timelines at the land, power, and facility level, this suggests sustained capital investment far beyond current market expectations. The Jevons Paradox application is particularly insightful: as AI becomes more efficient and cheaper to deploy, it won’t reduce demand but rather unlock entirely new applications and use cases, driving exponential growth in consumption. This challenges the prevailing market concern about potential capex slowdowns and suggests that power infrastructure companies may be significantly undervalued. For businesses and policymakers, this signals that AI infrastructure planning should be treated with the same long-term strategic importance as other critical utilities.
Related Stories
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Reveals Public Speaking Struggles Despite AI Success
- Meta and Nvidia Billionaires’ Wealth Soars $152B in AI Boom
- Nvidia faces US probe over potential export rules violations to China
- Groq Investor Warns of Data Center Crisis Threatening AI Industry
- Big Tech’s 2025 AI Plans: Meta, Apple, Tesla, Google Unveil Roadmap