To The Moon

🌟🌟🌟This is the most investable phase of the AI cycle, the point where AI is no longer a moonshot but a measurable contributor to:

Sales conversion - Google's Gemini "virtual merchant" upgrade 

R&D acceleration - NVIDIA and Eli Lilly commiting USD 1 billion to a joint discovery lab 

Workflow automation - ServiceNow

Data monetisation - Snowflake 

Clinical and pharmaceutical revenue - Tempus AI

This theme "AI that pays for itself" has durability because it aligns with what CEOs will approve : That AI reduces cost, increases throughput and directly generates revenue.  AI now produces cash flows, not just demos.

Tempus AI - What It Actually Does 

Tempus $Tempus AI(TEM)$  sits at the intersection of healthcare, data and AI.  This is a rare and defensible zone.

Tempus' business model spans:

Clinical diagnostics with genome testing, sequencing and clinical decision support.

AI driven insights with models that help doctors choose treatments 

Pharmaceutical partnerships by using Tempus' data to support drug development.

Real world evidence with datasets sold to biopharmaceutical companies.

The magic is in the flywheel.  More patients will lead to more genomic data.  This in turn leads to better AI models creating greater pharmaceutical demand and ultimately results in greater revenue.

That is why 83% YoY revenue growth matters.  It is not hype.  It is scaling data business with recurring demand.

Can Tempus run further?

Yes, if it keeps surprising on revenue and expand pharmaceutical services.  In fact in 2025, Tempus has skyrocketed a huge 117%.  However the trajectory may not be smooth as healthcare AI is still a new concept in healthcare.

ServiceNow :  The Quiet AI Monetiser

ServiceNow $ServiceNow(NOW)$  is one of the cleanest plays on enterprise AI because it already sits inside the workflow of large companies.  Every new AI features it introduces becomes an upsell.  Automation also directly reduces labour cost.

ServiceNow is set to release its latest results on January 28.  The stock has turned into a key gauge of whether large firms can continue investing in workflow software or hold back on projects once more.

However analysts from Evercore ISI have maintained its Outperform rating on ServiceNow, holding the price target at USD 225.  It cited solid demand and growing interest in ServiceNow's "Now Assist" product.  Evercore also emphasised "annual recurring revenue", a subscription based metric that annualises contracted revenue as a crucial measure for tracking ServiceNow's AI efforts.

Snowflake - The Data Backbone for AI

Snowflake $Snowflake(SNOW)$  is the infrastructure layer for companies that want to store data, clean data, share data and run AI models on top of data.

Snowflake's challenge has been slowing growth but its opportunity is enormous.  AI is useless without clean, structured accessible data.  Snowflake is positioning itself as the operating system for that world.

If AI is the engine, Snowflake is the fuel line.

IGV ETF: Is It A Good Buy?

$iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF(IGV)$ is a broad software ETF that captures: enterprise software, cloud, cybersecurity, workflow automation and AI enabled software companies.  Its expense ratio is 0.4%, higher than broad market ETFs but typical for a specialised tech ETF.

What IGV does well is that it provides diversified exposure to software winners.  It also reduces single stock risk and captures the AI software monetisation cycle.

IGV's top 10 holdings include:

Microsoft - the anchor of enterprise software and cloud.  Azure is one of the largest AI infrastructure platforms globally.  Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot are direct monetisation engines.  Microsoft is a stabilising force in IGV as it has low volatility and high cash flow.

Palantir - a pure play AI platform for government and enterprise.  Palantir has strong momentum from its AIP Platform.  It is the AI accelerating engine providing high growth and high narrative power.

Salesforce  is the world's largest CRM platform , deeply embedded in enterprise workflows.  Salesforce is monetising AI through Einstein and data cloud integration.  Salesforce is the workflow giant that benefits from AI driven productivity.

Oracle is a legacy titan that is reinventing itself through cloud and AI.  It has strong database dominance and growing cloud infrastructure.  AI workloads are driving new demand for Oracle Cloud.

Intuit is the owner of TurboTax, QuickBooks and Credit Karma.  AI is embedded in financial automation and tax workflows.  Intuit is the consumer enterprise hybrid with sticky software ecosystem.

AppLovin's forte is AI driven advertising and mobile app optimisation. It is one of the fastest growing names in the ETF.  AppLovin is the beneficiary of AI powered ad targeting and optimisation.

Adobe has Creative Cloud and Firefly generative AI.  It has a deep subscription base with strong pricing power.  Adobe's AI features drive upsell and retention. Adobe is the creative monopoly that powers into AI native tools.

ServiceNow is the purest automation play.  It has AI copilots embedded into workflows that companies rely on.

Palo Alto Networks is the cybersecurity leaders as AI is essential for threat detection and response.  It has strong recurring revenue and mission critical relevance.  Palo Alto is the security shield of IGV.

CrowdStrike is a cloud native cybersecurity platform.  Its Falcon platform uses AI for real time threat detection.  CrowdStrike is one of the fastest growing cybersecurity companies.  It is the AI native defender with high growth and high relevance.

IGV is not a generic tech ETF .  It is a software first, AI monetisation ETF.  This is the part where recurring revenue meets AI driven margin expansion.

Is IGV a good buy?  If you believe that the next leg of AI monetisation happens in software, IGV is a simple steady way to own that trend.

IGV is the "sleep well at night" version of the AI trade.

Concluding Thoughts 

AI is no longer just a promise.  It is now a profit generating machine.  The winners from here won't be the loudest.  They will be the ones whose AI shows up in revenue, margins and customer behaviour.

2026 will not be about who talks about AI.  It will be about who can generate profits out of AI.

So the theme that I will follow closely for 2026 is "AI that pays for itself".

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