Investing Millions of Dollars in AI for Cows

Editor's note: The AI megatrend is expanding beyond the tech sector. And according to Ethan Goldman, analyst for our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics, this shift is creating overlooked opportunities. While investors looking for the next big winners focus on software, the most promising AI investments are quietly solving real-world problems...

The AI megatrend keeps showing up in unexpected places...

A private agricultural-tech company called Halter raised $220 million from its AI-powered collar... for cows.

These collars allow ranchers to do basic tasks remotely – like tracking their cattle's location via GPS.

But that's just the beginning...

Halter's collars give ranchers control over where their cows can and can't graze.

Put simply, ranchers can set virtual fences from a mobile app on their phones. The collar then uses sound and vibrations to move the cows from one area to another. Of course, these cues also keep the cows from moving outside a set area.

Halter's collar saves ranchers time, frustration, and money.

Cow collars might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to AI. But virtual fencing could be the future of cattle farming.

And this niche highlights a much larger shift...

The AI boom isn't just happening in tech – it's spreading into industries most investors don't associate with innovation.

And that's where some of the most overlooked opportunities are forming...

Halter's rollout is a clear example of how this shift is translating into real-world results...

One rancher in California used Halter to create 7 miles of virtual fencing. She said it saved her $210,000 in materials.

Another rancher in Montana says Halter's virtual fencing saved him hundreds of hours of hard labor.

Of course, Halter collected a ton of data on cows while developing this collar...

The company used AI to analyze more than 7 billion hours of cow behavior. That gives ranchers insight into the health and behaviors of their own herds.

Halter calls this the "Cowgorithm." And it's easy to see the value it adds to Halter's collars.

As such, Halter has attracted major support from venture-capital firms – including the same one that supported Meta Platforms (META) and Airbnb (ABNB)...

The AI Megatrend Is Everywhere

I'm talking about the Founders Fund.

You may recognize the first partner listed on the fund's website: Peter Thiel. He co-founded payment processor PayPal (PYPL)... provided the first outside investment to social media platform Facebook... and is the co-founder of AI titan Palantir Technologies (PLTR).

Put simply, the Founders Fund has a record of picking winning startups.

For Halter, the Founders Fund led that $220 million funding round mentioned above. This brought the company's valuation to $2 billion.

Halter plans to use this money to expand its Cowgorithm and provide virtual fences in markets around the world.

The Cowgorithm isn't a chatbot. But it helps solve real problems for the ranchers using it.

Folks, it's easier than ever to let flashy software and AI tools dazzle you... especially when CEOs are laying off thousands of employees in response to alleged productivity gains.

As my colleague Joe Austin said last month in the Chaikin PowerFeed...

[It] seems like we hear about new business applications for AI almost every day. Just think of the recent chaos in the software industry.

To find the real winners amid the AI megatrend, look for companies using AI to solve real problems and improve their competitive positions.

Folks, all this isn't to say that Halter is guaranteed to succeed...

But as we can see with this company, AI innovation isn't only boosting white-collar jobs. And the biggest investment opportunities may not be where you initially expect.

With the recent geopolitical turmoil, it might feel like AI has taken a back seat in the media. But the AI megatrend is still unfolding... And the next leg of the boom could unfold in industries most investors aren't considering.

Good investing,

Ethan Goldman

Editor's note: The next wave of AI winners likely won't be the names everyone already owns. Two investing veterans say a major shift is coming – driven by new technology that suddenly gets cheaper and more powerful at the same time. One private company sits right at the center of this convergence... And it's preparing to go public.