In March 1986, a pivotal moment in artificial intelligence (AI) history occurred. This was during the presidency of Ronald Reagan before the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 2,000 points, and long before the internet, iPhones, and chatbots were part of everyday life. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was just a baby at the time.
During that week, two of the most significant companies in the AI field went public. Microsoft’s IPO took place on March 13, 1986, followed by Oracle’s IPO a day earlier.
Interestingly, the IPO documents of these companies didn’t mention AI, machine learning, or large language models, nor did they discuss risks related to the availability of AI chips from Nvidia, a company that wouldn’t be founded for another seven years by Jensen Huang.
Fast forward to today, and the progress is staggering.
Microsoft has become a central figure in the AI narrative, reflected in its market valuation exceeding $3 trillion, making it the only public company to reach this milestone, with a significant lead over Apple by around $400 billion. Microsoft’s stock price is currently close to its all-time high.
Oracle, too, has made significant strides in cloud computing and AI. However, Wall Street has only recently started to fully recognize the strength of the company’s position.
I believe there is still considerable potential for investors to benefit from Oracle’s ongoing transformation, a transformation that Barron’s first spotlighted in a cover story three years ago.
