Copper prices are near all-time highs, fueled by rocketing demand for electricity and electronics. Behind it all-no surprise-is AI.

The cure for high commodity prices are, of course, high commodity prices. Everyone wants to find a cheaper workaround.

Right now, a couple of companies have a massive opportunity to swap out the copper used in AI data centers with other materials: TE Connectivity and Amphenol.

Both are "at their core, connectivity companies," wrote Bernstein analyst Varun Govindaraj, who just launched coverage of the companies with Buy ratings.

TE Connectivity and Amphenol let power move through an electronic system, manufacturing things that make that happen such as cables, connectors, and power distribution products.

Both have large non-data center sales-85% for TE Connectivity and 60% for Amphenol. Still, "interest in both stocks has increased materially with the AI infrastructure...build-out," added Govindaraj.

That buildout has helped push benchmark copper prices near $7 a pound. Before the AI boom, prices were closer to $4 a pound.

High prices have created an opportunity to use optical fibers in data center, which both companies provide.

Optical fiber can carry more data than copper wires, over longer distances, with less heat generated. It makes more sense to use them as AI computing gets more complex.

To be sure, copper won't be replaced.

"Our point of view is that copper and optical continue to coexist over the midterm," wrote Govindaraj. "And while [AI model] training workloads may move away from copper eventually, we also believe inference workloads will lean to copper intra-rack, ensuring demand for a sizable share of future gigawatts."

TE Connectivity bought RAM Photonics early this year. RAM has optical interconnect technologies. Amphenol has expanded its optical offering over the years.

On Wednesday, Amphenol shares were down 0.7% at $82.30. Govindaraj's price target is $99. TE Connectivity stock was essentially flat at $213.72, coming back from being down 1.4% shortly after the market open. His price target is $243.

The meh numbers seem to be investors taking profits after an early-week AI rally. The iShares Semiconductor ETF is down 2%, leaving it up about 5% for the week.

Both TE Connectivity and Amphenol are popular on Wall Street. Overall, 65% of analysts covering TE Connectivity rate shares Buy. The Buy-rating ratio for Amphenol stock is 91%. The average Buy-rating ratio for S&P 500 stocks typically ranges from 55% to 60%.