Harvard University Stocks List: Top 5 AI Picks

2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Harvard Management Equity Stake: $236.81 Million

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 312

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of Harvard University’s top AI stock picks. On March 14, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) became the first cloud service provider to begin validating the Vera Rubin NVL72 system. Developed by Nvidia, the next-generation rack-scale AI supercomputer is designed for training and inference of trillion-parameter models.

The ongoing tests mark an important milestone in Microsoft’s push to deploy next-generation AI infrastructure. The deployment also asserts Azure’s strategy in co-designing data center architecture that can accommodate massive power, cooling, and bandwidth requirements for the most powerful AI superchips. Bernstein has already reiterated that Microsoft’s first-to-validate status underscores its SaaS/Cloud dominance.

Microsoft’s validation of the Nvidia system also comes on the heels of a multiyear power and liquid-cooling redesign, crucial to managing the increasing watt density of the NVL72 racks. The likes of Amazon and Alphabet are also expected to deploy Rubin systems in the second half of the year. As more players leverage the new system, it remains to be seen if hardware gains will translate into lower inference costs for customers.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a leader in artificial intelligence, focusing on integrating generative AI across its entire product ecosystem, providing AI infrastructure through Azure, and developing “agentic” AI capable of autonomous action. Through a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment in OpenAI, Microsoft has exclusive access to foundational models like GPT-4 and DALL-E 3.