If pandemic life has taught us anything, it is that life is pretty livable in the cloud. Every aspect of our lives, from work, to school, and even social interactions are now happening virtually. Zoom calls, instant messaging, and chat platforms are how we get together.

This means that even as the economy faulters and unemployment rates continue to rise, companies that build or operate the technological infrastructure necessary for online life are doing well.

Among the world’s largest cloud providers are Amazon and Microsoft, and are benefitting tremendously from all the virtual living we are doing. Cloud usage to enable gaming, videoconferencing, and long-distance learning are at their peak. Even medical care providers who use these cloud services have increased their need for this technology as more patients are having virtual appointments.

That new demand has also yielded an increase in the need for chips, disks, and networking equipment—the physical components that power the cloud. Designers and producers of semiconductors, whose innovations now underpin much of modern life are also seeing an uptick in sales: chips for phones and cars have plummeted, but industry revenue is expected to be almost the same as previous years because of upgrades to data centers and sales of chips for laptops and other remote work and learning equipment.