Abstract: We provide direct evidence that firms' investments in new technologies affect the composition of firms' risk profiles. Leveraging comprehensive data on firm-level artificial intelligence (AI) investments, we document that firms that invest more in AI experience increases in their systematic risk, measured by market beta. This is unique to AI: robotics, IT, organizational capital, and R&D investments do not display similar effects. Our results are consistent with AI investments creating growth options: AI-investing firms become more growth-like, and the effect on market betas concentrates during market upswings and periods of increased news and attention around AI advances.

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