Tech giants Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Facebook (FB), and Microsoft (MSFT) have raced to apply artificial intelligence to their businesses, and the oil industry is starting to seize on AI's benefits too. The reason interest is surging now is because artificial intelligence is "actually doable," he said in an interview with IBD at CERAWeek, explaining that advancements in cloud computing and infrastructure have made AI more affordable and accessible. "The industrial world is waking up to best practices," he said. "They are all waking up to it." Several heavyweights in the energy industry are already investors in his company, including General Electric (GE), Chevron (CVX), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) and Saudi Aramco.