Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) services is exploding. Some estimates believe it will be a $4.8 trillion market by 2033.
Want to make sure your portfolio benefits? Each of these three stocks should benefit immensely from the rise of AI. But each has a slightly different angle of exposure.
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When it comes to investing in AI, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) remains king. AI models require specialized GPUs to operate, and according to most estimates, Nvidia has a 70% to 95% market share for AI GPUs. Its CUDA developer software, meanwhile, remains the go-to platform for customizing these chips for AI applications.
Nvidia's early investment in AI-specific GPUs, and the 2006 release of its CUDA platform, paved the way for its current dominance. Put simply, Nvidia's dominance today has been a long time coming. With greater investment capacity than its competitors, plus impressive vendor lock-in through its CUDA developer suite, I expect Nvidia to retain its leading market share for many more years to come, even as competition begins to heat up. This proven winner, down 25% year-to-date, now offers long-term investors a discounted entry point.
Think Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is an e-commerce company? Think again. Just like Nvidia, Amazon sits at the center of the AI revolution, though most everyday investors remain unaware of this reality.
The key to Amazon's AI exposure is its Amazon Web Services division, commonly referred to as AWS. Think of AWS as a distributed global computer that you can scale up and down with the press of a button. That's a huge benefit for AI developers, given their applications require a huge amount of compute power to train and execute their models. Cloud infrastructure like AWS allows them to do this significantly faster and cheaper versus building their own infrastructure.
Last year, AWS contributed more than half of Amazon's total operating income, with segment revenues growing in the double digits. With a 30% global market share for cloud infrastructure, Amazon will remain at the center of the AI revolution for years to come.
Want to swing for the fences with a tiny AI stock that could turn a small investment into millions of dollars? Check out SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN). This AI business has more risks than the two others listed, but the upside potential is clear. Nvidia and Amazon both have market caps above $1 trillion. SoundHound, meanwhile, is valued at just $3 billion.
As its name suggests, SoundHound is involved in AI applications that deal with sound. Think drive-thru windows, customer support lines, or personal assistants operated by AI agents. This category of AI services is expected to grow rapidly, with estimates calling for 34% annual growth to reach a $20 billion market value by 2030. That's not as big as other AI markets, but with a current sales base of just $34.5 million last quarter, SoundHound has plenty of room to grow.
The main issue here is competition. Plenty of big tech giants are also investing heavily in voice AI applications, and it's not clear if SoundHound's relatively small size will prevent it from competing long term. Plus, shares are fairly expensive at 31 times sales. But if you're looking to diversify your AI investment basket with a few higher-risk, higher-reward stocks, SoundHound is a prudent choice.
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.