Steve Cohen is set to make a big push into investing in AI

cnbc.com:

Billionaire investor Steve Cohen's Point72 plans to launch a separate, artificial intelligence-focused hedge fund to capitalize on the boom, according to a person close to the firm's plans.

The new long/short equity fund, to be launched later this year or early 2025, will be focused on AI and AI-related hardware, the person said.

The firm is aiming to raise $1 billion, with Cohen himself and Point72 employees expected to contribute, the person added. This stand-alone public equity offering will live outside the main fund due to the need for a more-flexible net exposure, the person said.

Point72 declined to comment. Bloomberg News first reported on the potential offering Tuesday.

Cohen recently came out as a long-term AI bull. He has called AI a «really durable theme» for investing, comparing the rise to the technological developments in the 1990s.

The massive rally in AI-related stocks such as Nvidia has lifted the broader market to record highs this year. The chipmaker giant has topped a $3 trillion market cap amid the increasing enthusiasm, while any stock tangentially connected to AI has experienced a runup in value.

«I don't see it as a bubble. I think the markets are discounting some of what we … think AI is going to do for companies,» the Point72 founder said in a CNBC interview in April.

The Mets owner highlighted AI's role in enhancing productivity at basically every company. Cohen said his investment firm found a way to save $25 million by using large language models such as ChatGPT to improve efficiency.

Point72 oversees nearly $34 billion in assets as of April.