And the latest AI winner is...glass

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Like everyone in the elevator at the end of Willy Wonka, US-based Corning is riding glass to new heights. The 175-year-old company’s stock hit an all-time high on Friday and is up more than 130% over the past year because it’s a surprising AI winner. Window to the future: Corning has long been an innovator, producing everything from Edison’s first light bulbs to Pyrex bakeware. Then, in 1970, the company’s researchers developed fiber-optic wire. But over time, that glass fiber product started to look like it needed Windex. In 2018, Corning focused on making thinner, tougher glass cables that performed especially well in data centers. When the AI boom hit, the company was perfectly positioned to help build out the infrastructure: Late last month, Corning signed a $6 billion fiber-optic cable contract with Meta. The glassmaker expects other AI “hyperscalers” to follow suit. Glass bubble? Corning was on a similar trajectory from 1997 to 2000, but when the dot-com bubble popped, the company lost more than 90% of its value. The company says it’s more diversified now. In August, Corning signed a $2.5 billion deal to manufacture all of the cover glass for iPhones and Apple Watches.