AI boom spreads beyond chips as software, storage and fintech firms emerge as beneficiaries: BofA
New Delhi, June 11
The artificial intelligence boom is spreading well beyond semiconductor companies, with software, storage, networking and fintech firms increasingly emerging as beneficiaries of the technology spending cycle, according to a Bank of America Global Research report.
The report, based on discussions at BofA's 2026 Global Technology Conference, said AI remains the primary growth driver across multiple technology segments, with demand expanding from chipmakers to companies providing software platforms, cybersecurity services, storage infrastructure and payment solutions.
In its software sector assessment, BofA said, "Demand trends across Neoclouds, infrastructure software, and cybersecurity remain constructive, with AI the primary growth driver."
The report noted that AI-related spending is supporting demand for cloud infrastructure, enterprise software and cybersecurity platforms as companies seek to integrate AI capabilities into their operations.
BofA said infrastructure software companies are benefiting from platform consolidation and broader adoption of multiple products by customers, while cybersecurity firms are seeing increased demand as AI creates a more complex threat landscape.
The report also highlighted growing opportunities in the networking segment, where AI-driven data centre expansion continues to support investment.
According to BofA, "AI-driven data centre demand remains robust, led by hyperscaler buildouts," while AI Ethernet deployments are moving from pilot projects into production environments.
The report added that networking is evolving into a broader growth cycle, with AI remaining the key driver and enterprise and government customers contributing increasingly to demand.
Beyond software and networking, BofA said storage infrastructure is emerging as a significant beneficiary of the AI buildout.
"Storage also emerged as an increasingly more strategic bottleneck as AI increases the amount of data that must be stored, queried, protected, etc.," the report said.
The report noted that growing AI workloads are driving demand for hard-disk drives and enterprise storage systems as organisations store and process larger volumes of data.
In the fintech sector, BofA said AI is creating new growth opportunities rather than disrupting existing business models.
The report said discussions with payments and consumer finance companies showed that firms are increasingly using AI to improve product development, customer acquisition and monetisation strategies.
Summing up the broader trend across sectors, BofA said, "AI rewires growth across Fintech," while software, networking and hardware companies continue to see AI-led demand expansion.
The report also noted that demand for AI infrastructure remains strong across the technology ecosystem, with companies reporting solid visibility on orders and spending plans as enterprises continue to invest in AI deployment.
BofA's conference brought together technology companies across semiconductors, software, networking, hardware, internet and payments sectors to assess key trends shaping the next phase of AI-driven growth.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As someone working in fintech, I can confirm this AI wave is real. We're using machine learning for fraud detection and it's made a huge difference. But the article is right—it's going to be a while before small and medium Indian businesses see the benefits. Infrastructure costs are still too high for most.
Har ek startup AI ka tag laga raha hai these days 😂 But seriously, if Indian companies can leverage this for better cybersecurity, that's a game-changer. We've seen too many data breaches lately. The government should also push for AI adoption in our public services—imagine AI in healthcare for rural areas!
I work in cybersecurity for a US-based firm and we're definitely seeing more demand due to AI threats. But the real challenge is finding skilled talent. India has the engineers but we need better training in AI security. The article mentions 'platform consolidation'—that's happening everywhere, and big players like Palo Alto are eating the market. 🇺🇸
BofA ka report is good but let's be real—this AI boom is mostly benefiting the West and big Indian IT firms like TCS, Infosys. The storage bottleneck point is accurate though. We recently upgraded our data center and AI workloads are driving 40% of the storage demand. But the cost of HDDs and SSDs is still insane in India due to import duties 😤
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