History shows that breakthroughs usually come from upstarts, not incumbents.
Editor’s Note: Every investing era has its defining moment. In the 1980s, Apple squared off against IBM. In the 1990s, Amazon reshaped retail.
And now, it’s AI transforming industries at a breakneck pace. It’s a force that’s fundamentally changing how fast companies can grow, scale, and generate profits. It is therefore producing an unusual class of stock breakouts.
InvestorPlace Senior Analyst Luke Lango calls these “AI Income Events” – moments when hype flips into adoption-driven growth.
A few recent AI Income Events include…
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI) – 233% in just 2 months
- SoundHound AI Inc. (SOUN) – 300% in a few months
- BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (BBAI) – 100% in weeks
- Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) – 290% in 5 months
- AppLovin Corporation (APP) – 500% in 5 months
But what history shows us is clear…
The biggest breakthroughs – and the biggest stock market winners – almost never come from the incumbents. They come from the upstarts.
So, Luke is joining us today to share how three little-known companies triggered “AI Income Events”… and how you can turn a $5,000 stake into $30,000 within six months by capturing a series of these events.
Take it away, Luke…
One August morning in 1981, Steve Jobs sat at Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) headquarters with a Wall Street Journal folded under his arm.
The headline: IBM Corp. (IBM) was entering the personal computer market.
Apple, barely 5 years old, suddenly found itself up against Big Blue.
With trademark audacity, Jobs turned the moment into theater. Apple ran a cheeky full-page WSJ ad: “Welcome, IBM. Seriously.” Later, in a 1983 speech, Jobs cast Apple as the rebel, warning “IBM wants it all.”
That spirit paid off. The Macintosh, launched in 1984 with its iconic Super Bowl ad, made Apple the symbol of insurgent tech. Since then, Apple stock has soared nearly 175,000%, while IBM is up just about 2,500%.
Apple isn’t alone in this story.
History shows transformational breakthroughs usually come from upstarts, not incumbents. Each innovation cycle produces Davids that topple Goliaths.
Now that we’re in the AI innovation cycle, let’s look at three Davids whose “AI Income Events” rewarded investors with huge gains.
Their biggest moves are likely largely past — so I’ll also show you how my team is spotting the next round…
Three “AI Income Event” Case Studies
AI has become the great equalizer. Any small firm can now harness it to leap ahead of giants.
The challenge is spotting when hype (Phase 1) flips to adoption-driven growth (Phase 2). That’s where my Nexus system comes in.
I’ll tell you more about Nexus in a minute, but first let’s take a look at three AI Income Events it uncovered…
Case Study #1: Back in October 2023, most investors had never heard of our first case study.
It was a Microsoft partner in cloud software — a solid business, sure, but hardly front-page material. Then on October 10, this company unveiled an AI-powered information lifecycle management platform.
That was the spark for AvePoint Inc. (AVPT).
Nexus flagged it immediately. Not just because the word “AI” appeared in a press release, but because my system detected a shift in business momentum — the transition from Phase 1 story to Phase 2 execution.
We moved in.
Within a month, we had partial profits of +12.9%. By May 2024, we booked another +24.1% gain.
And by August 2025, we cashed in for a total gain of +105%.
That’s the kind of AI Income Event that can turn a modest stake into serious cash.
Case Study #2: If you’ve ever applied for a mortgage, you know how painful it can be. Endless forms. Weeks of back-and-forth.
Our second case study was already digitizing the process — but in September 2023, it rolled out an AI chatbot to streamline mortgage applications.
Nexus went off again.
On Dec. 12, 2023, I recommended Blend Labs Inc. (BLND) to my members. Within weeks, the stock sprinted for a quick +22% gain, then kept running to +40%. By March 2025, it had surged to +108%.
That’s not a sleepy dividend drip. That’s not a 10-year bond.
That’s a stock doubling in less than 18 months — all because an AI Income Event creating efficiency overnight in an old, inefficient industry.
Case Study #3: Our third and final case study builds next-generation drones and autonomous warfare systems. It was embedding AI into defense hardware in a way that seemed niche a few years ago — until geopolitics suddenly made it urgent.
Nexus picked up the signal on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (KTOS) early, in May 2023, before the mainstream had caught on. We rode this position with phased trims, ultimately locking in a monster +324% gain.
This was the definition of a hidden AI Income Event: not obvious, not hyped, but absolutely transformative once the market realized the power of the AI catalyst behind Kratos’ growth.
Now, let’s take a look at how Nexus works…
How Nexus Spots the Shift
The stock market has phases. In fact, every innovative trend follows a predictable progression:
Phase 1 – The Speculation Stage: All hype, headlines, and early whispers… stocks with more story than substance.
Phase 2 – The Growth Stage: Real products, real adoption, real numbers. This is where the biggest gains happen.
Phase 3 – Maturity: Widespread adoption and slower, steadier growth as the trend becomes mainstream.
Right now, AI itself is solidly in Phase 2. And Nexus can detect when an individual company within makes that critical leap from Phase 1 to Phase 2.
That’s when we see an “AI Income Event.”
I believe we’re only about a year away from AI as a whole entering Phase 3 – that mature stage where growth slows and adoption is everywhere. That means the window for Phase 2 AI Income Events is closing.
Every month you wait is another month when stocks like AvePoint, Blend Labs, or Kratos could slip past you.
Most people won’t capture these moves – just as they missed Apple’s first few years – betting instead on larger, more established companies … and then saying it “was obvious all along” after the fact.
That’s why I created the AI Income Challenge: to encourage everyday investors to step off the sidelines and see if they can use my strategy to capture $30,000 in cash payouts in just six months. The opportunities are there, but seizing them requires action now.
I just put together a special free broadcast going into far more detail on Nexus – you can click here to join me in the AI Income Challenge and start targeting your first $30,000 in cash.
Regards,
Luke Lango
Senior Investment Analyst, InvestorPlace
