Bloom Energy rival to Nvidia on AI power demand—fuel cells cheaper entry

Nvidia's reign as the primary beneficiary of the AI boom has created an investment dilemma: the semiconductor giant, now valued at over $5 trillion（約800兆円）, is the largest company by market cap and posted an impressive 85% revenue surge to $81.6 billion（約13兆円） in its fiscal 2027 first quarter. Yet it faces headwinds, including mounting competition from its own customers who are developing proprietary AI chips. This dynamic has led some investors to look beyond chipmakers for alternative exposure to the AI boom.

Bloom Energy, a fuel cell company, has positioned itself as a critical piece of the AI infrastructure puzzle—solving a problem that may ultimately be as constraining as chip availability. AI chips require enormous amounts of stable power to run at full capacity and prevent overheating, making electricity supply a bottleneck for data center expansion. Bloom's advanced fuel cells provide ultra-reliable, clean, on-site power solutions that data center developers can deploy rapidly. The company has already proven its value through its partnership with Oracle. Last year, Bloom collaborated with Oracle to deliver onsite power to its data centers, completing the initial deployment in just 55 days—beating the original 90-day timeline. This success prompted Oracle to expand its partnership with Bloom earlier this year, committing to deploy up to 2.8 gigawatts of fuel cells to accelerate its AI infrastructure buildout.

Bloom's credibility has grown further through a landmark partnership with Brookfield Asset Management, a global alternative investment manager. Brookfield initially committed up to $5 billion（約8000億円） to deploy Bloom's fuel cell technology at AI factories and used that investment to seed its inaugural Brookfield AI Infrastructure Fund, which features Nvidia as a cornerstone investor and aims to invest up to $100 billion（約16兆円） in acquiring AI infrastructure. In a significant expansion of the relationship, Brookfield recently increased its commitment to Bloom fivefold to $25 billion（約4兆円）, signaling deep confidence in the company's role in a new data center model that integrates power, compute, data center infrastructure, and capital.

The scale of the opportunity before Bloom is enormous. Foundational models and generative AI will drive powerful electricity demand in the coming decade, with forecasters anticipating that AI data centers in the U.S. alone could surpass 100 GW by 2035. According to Bloom's own annual Data Center Power Report, 61% of data center developers plan to bring their own power if the grid cannot meet their needs, underscoring the priority of on-site solutions. While Bloom is not the only fuel cell maker competing in this market, it stands apart in scale and financial strength. Unlike many of its peers, which are still unprofitable, Bloom Energy is increasingly profitable. In its first quarter, the company's revenue rocketed 130% to $751.1 million（約1200億円）, its operating income jumped to $72.2 million（約120億円）, and it generated positive operating cash flow of $73.6 million（約120億円）—giving it resources to reinvest in capacity expansion and the backing of Brookfield's $25 billion（約4兆円） strategic partnership.

Bloom's stock has experienced a volatile trajectory. It skyrocketed nearly 750% over the past year but has cooled off more than 35% from its peak, trading at a $62 billion（約9.9兆円） market cap and a valuation of around 16 times forward sales—substantially cheaper than Nvidia on a relative basis. While the company has already captured significant gains, its recently expanded strategic partnerships and the projected 100+ GW data center buildout suggest room for continued growth, even at current valuation levels.

Nvidia's dominance in AI semiconductors is undisputed—it is the largest company by market cap at over $5 trillion（約800兆円） and grew revenue 85% in its fiscal 2027 first quarter to $81.6 billion（約13兆円）. However, the company faces increasing competition, including from customers developing their own AI chips. This backdrop has opened a complementary investment opportunity in the infrastructure that powers AI data centers, where power supply has emerged as a bottleneck.

Bloom Energy's fuel cell technology addresses this bottleneck directly. The company's partnerships demonstrate the scale of demand: Oracle initially deployed fuel cells in 55 days and has since committed to up to 2.8 gigawatts, while Brookfield Asset Management—which counts Nvidia as a cornerstone investor in its AI Infrastructure Fund—has expanded its commitment to Bloom from $5 billion（約8000億円） to $25 billion（約4兆円）. These partnerships signal confidence from major players that on-site power solutions are essential to AI infrastructure buildout.

Bloom's financial trajectory also distinguishes it from other fuel cell makers. Its 130% revenue growth to $751.1 million（約1200億円） in the first quarter, combined with operating profitability and positive cash flow, positions it as a scaling business rather than a speculative play. Forecasts suggesting U.S. AI data centers could surpass 100 GW by 2035 suggest the addressable market is vast, and the company's early partnerships place it at the center of that opportunity.

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