--- title: "Why Investors Should Be Looking Up" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/293345764.md" description: "Audun Wickstrand Iversen, portfolio manager at DNB Fund Disruptive Opportunities, argues that investors should focus on the physical infrastructure enabling AI's second phase. He highlights critical bottlenecks in memory, optical networks, cooling, and satellite communications. While SpaceX is significant, its current valuation makes it less attractive than other listed space companies like AST SpaceMobile or Rocket Lab. The investment opportunity lies in resolving structural bottlenecks rather than chasing hype." datetime: "2026-07-21T13:02:02.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/293345764.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293345764.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/293345764.md) --- # Why Investors Should Be Looking Up _By **Audun Wickstrand Iversen**, Portfolio Manager at DNB Fund Disruptive Opportunities_ When I look up this summer, I see not just blue skies, but one of the most exciting infrastructure stories of the coming years. Orbit is becoming increasingly relevant for investors. Satellites, data connections and space-based networks could become part of the infrastructure without which artificial intelligence cannot scale in the physical world. SpaceX is, naturally, at the centre of this. With its IPO, what was long a private technology venture has become a publicly traded investment. Starlink has shown that satellite internet can be more than just a solution for remote regions. Yet right now, it is worth distinguishing between technological fascination and valuation. SpaceX is undoubtedly one of the most significant technology companies of our time. For us, however, given the current valuation, it is not automatically the most attractive way to invest in the space economy. Switzerland approaches technology from a practical perspective Perhaps this is precisely why this perspective suits Switzerland so well. Here, innovation is rarely seen merely as a grand narrative. What matters is whether a technology develops into a reliable system: precise, robust, efficient and economically scalable. This is also the crux of the matter when it comes to disruptive technologies. Not every vision becomes a market, not every platform becomes profitable, and not every grand narrative is automatically a good investment idea. Swiss investors often ask exactly the right questions: Where does real value lie? Where is a structural bottleneck? And at what valuation does a good technology become a good investment? The second phase of AI is becoming physical Artificial intelligence has already gone through its first phase on the stock market. The obvious winners are well known, and many valuations reflect this. The question now becomes more intriguing: who will provide the infrastructure without which AI cannot be deployed more widely? In 2019, we spoke of the coming decade of disruption. Today, this has become a real investment cycle. AI is not just abstract and digital. It requires memory chips, optical networks, cooling, energy, sensor technology, batteries, robotics, drones, autonomous systems and satellite connections. The next phase is unfolding in factories, underwater, on the roads and in orbit. That is why we are not just looking at the big names in AI. Nvidia was the obvious winner of the first phase. But now the bottlenecks are shifting. Memory is becoming more important because AI models have to process enormous amounts of data. Companies such as Micron and SanDisk are benefiting from memory becoming a critical component of the infrastructure. Optical networks, cooling and more efficient server architectures are also gaining in importance. Examples include Lumentum, Vertiv and Napatech. Drones and autonomous systems are also still at an early stage in their adoption curve. Underwater drones can be used to protect critical infrastructure, at energy facilities, for fibre-optic cables or in the search for raw materials. Kraken Robotics is an example of a company active in precisely this field. We take a similar view of autonomous driving. In the long term, we regard Tesla less as a traditional car manufacturer and more as a robotics company. In the short term, we have become more cautious because we would like to see more progress in the roll-out of robotaxis, Full Self-Driving and Optimus. However, the fundamental thesis remains: the car of the future is a software-defined robot on four wheels. Orbit fits into this picture. Satellites could become a new layer of digital infrastructure. SpaceX is the most prominent name, but not necessarily the most attractive for investors. Although the share has become more accessible following the IPO, this is precisely why valuation becomes even more important. For us, at its current valuation, SpaceX is more a matter of market size, liquidity and index demand than a classic valuation play. We currently find other listed space companies such as AST SpaceMobile, Rocket Lab or Redwire more interesting. For Swiss investors, therefore, the opportunity does not lie in chasing every hype. The most exciting opportunities often arise where a real bottleneck is resolved: storage, networks, cooling, sensors, drones, robotics, autonomous mobility or satellite communications. Technology remains the most powerful force for change of our time. What matters is not which app is currently popular, but which machines, networks and infrastructures are enabling the second phase of AI. ### Related Stocks - [PL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PL.US.md) - [RKLB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RKLB.US.md) - [DXYZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DXYZ.US.md) - [SATS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SATS.US.md) - [ASTS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ASTS.US.md) - [VCX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VCX.US.md) - [512810.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/512810.CN.md) - [RKLX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RKLX.US.md) - [159227.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/159227.CN.md) - [XAR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/XAR.US.md) - [159241.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/159241.CN.md) - [ITA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ITA.US.md) - [563380.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/563380.CN.md) - [PPA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PPA.US.md) - [ARKX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ARKX.US.md) - [ASTX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ASTX.US.md) - [PLU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PLU.US.md) - [RKLZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RKLZ.US.md) - [ASUP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ASUP.US.md) - [ASTN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ASTN.US.md) - [NVDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDA.US.md) - [MU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MU.US.md) - [SNDK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SNDK.US.md) - [LITE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/LITE.US.md) - [VRT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VRT.US.md) - [TSLA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLA.US.md) - [RDW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RDW.US.md) - [NVD.DE](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVD.DE.md) ## Related News & Research - [BUZZ-SpaceX shares poised to snap painful 7-day losing streak](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293374565.md) - [Is Buying a Launch Company AST SpaceMobile’s Next Vertical Integration Move?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293640018.md) - [Planet Labs opens London office, expands UK footprint](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293217411.md) - [Rocket Lab Wins $266 Million Suborbital Launch Contract](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293507372.md) - [Why AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Is Up 7.6% After a $1.15 Billion Convertible Notes Offering](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293761869.md)