The Billionaire Investor Betting Big on AI: How One Portfolio Strategy Mirrors Buffett's Approach

When billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman looks at the future of technology investment, he sees an opportunity to replicate Warren Buffett’s legendary track record. His firm, Pershing Square, has delivered a 24-percentage-point advantage over the S&P 500 over the past decade—proof that his investment thesis deserves attention.

Today, Ackman’s conviction in artificial intelligence is unmistakable. As of the third quarter, two AI-driven companies command 39% of his portfolio: Alphabet at 19% and Uber Technologies at 20%. This concentration reveals where a sophisticated investor sees the most compelling AI opportunities in the market.

Alphabet: The AI Infrastructure Player With Consumer Reach

Alphabet’s dominance in digital advertising has long been unassailable, built on the foundation of Google Search’s 50% revenue contribution. Yet the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity created legitimate concerns about search disruption.

Alphabet responded by embedding artificial intelligence directly into its core product. Google Search now features AI Overviews and AI Mode, enhancements that have driven increases in both commercial and overall search queries—a particularly strong showing among younger demographics who might otherwise gravitate toward AI-native competitors.

Beyond search, the company has constructed a formidable AI infrastructure advantage. Google Cloud has accelerated revenue growth for two consecutive quarters, fueled by enterprise demand for AI services. The company developed custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) that rival Nvidia’s GPU offerings, while its Gemini large language models compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic offerings in popularity.

What separates Alphabet is scope. It operates across the entire AI stack: infrastructure (TPUs and cloud services), consumer applications (Google Search and Gemini), and distribution channels that reach billions of users daily. When Meta Platforms recently deployed Google TPUs in its data centers—the first external use of the chips outside Google—it validated the competitive quality of Alphabet’s custom silicon.

Wall Street projects 16% annual earnings growth over three years. At a 32x earnings multiple, the valuation reflects this growth trajectory without demanding an excessive premium.

Uber: Positioned as the Gateway for Autonomous Vehicle Monetization

Uber’s core ride-sharing business has evolved into an ecosystem play. By bundling ride-sharing, food delivery, and retail services into a single mobile app, the company capitalizes on network effects and user switching costs. Its advertising business, built on consumer behavioral data, adds a high-margin revenue stream.

Yet the real growth engine lies in autonomous vehicles. Uber estimates the U.S. ride-sharing market could expand to $1 trillion as robotaxis displace human drivers. Rather than building autonomous technology itself, Uber positioned its platform as the distribution channel for AV partners.

The Nvidia partnership exemplifies this strategy. Through the Nvidia Hyperion framework, Uber is enabling external companies to build and deploy robotaxis on its platform, with the ambition of reaching 100,000 vehicles by 2027. Simultaneously, a data-sharing factory leveraging Nvidia hardware will generate over 3 million hours of robotaxi-specific operational data—a resource that makes Uber’s platform more valuable to every AV partner.

Alphabet’s Waymo operates robotaxis in Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix. WeRide provides service in Abu Dhabi with 15 European cities planned over the next five years. Each partnership demonstrates that Uber controls the largest ride-sharing network on Earth—the ultimate proving ground for autonomous vehicle commercialization.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi articulated the competitive advantage directly: “Uber can deliver the lowest operation costs of our AV partners because we are leaps and bounds ahead on every aspect of the go-to-market capabilities that are critical to commercialization.”

Wall Street expects 31% annual earnings growth over the next three years. At 11x earnings, Uber’s valuation appears underpriced relative to its growth trajectory and AI-driven optionality.

The Billionaire Thesis on AI

Bill Ackman’s concentrated bet on Alphabet and Uber reflects a coherent thesis: the most valuable AI investments are those that combine infrastructure advantages with distribution dominance.

Alphabet controls custom silicon and cloud services that enterprises depend on. Uber operates the network where autonomous vehicles will be commercialized at scale. Neither company needs to win a winner-take-all race in AI research—instead, they monetize AI through existing moats and customer relationships.

This mirrors Buffett’s original insight about Berkshire Hathaway: hold diversified subsidiaries with durable competitive advantages. For Ackman, the modern equivalent isn’t a holding company of manufacturers—it’s stakes in platforms where artificial intelligence amplifies existing market power.