Each offers a different path to success.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is perhaps the most important advancement in our society, as the smartphone has essentially put the Internet in everyone’s pocket, creating the app economy, mobile payments, on-demand videos and music, and mobile commerce. Smartphones have changed the world – completely transforming both the stock market and the companies whose shares are traded daily.
AI is bringing a similar kind of disruptive change as computers become more powerful and integrate machine learning, large language models, and deep reasoning. AI changes the way we work, think and entertain ourselves. Companies are working overtime to launch new AI features that help them work more efficiently, and to engage users with innovative services and products.
There are many different ways to invest in AI: you can buy shares in companies that use AI within their own operations (enterprise AI), companies that make consumer-facing products (applied AI), or companies that are making big strides in creating full-stack products.
Here are three AI games, with each name representing one of these three themes.
Image source: Getty Images.
The Business AI Choice: Palantir Technologies
Palantir Technologies (PLTR 5.68%) takes AI and runs with it. The company operates powerful platforms that provide government agencies and commercial customers with insights that help them function better. It took off in April 2023 when it launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). The platform is integrated with Palantir’s acclaimed Foundry and Gotham software, allowing users to build workflows, perform actions, and obtain real-time data.
Palantir is now able to attract new work at a rapid pace and with a wide range of customers. It recently announced a deal with sports and entertainment company TWG Global to integrate AI into the sport of rodeo to improve athlete performance and create new fan experiences. It also signed an agreement with the U.S. Navy to help improve shipbuilding and manage the supply chain, and with France’s domestic intelligence agency to improve that country’s national security.
That’s why Palantir shares are up more than 960% since Jan. 1, 2024 — and there appears to be a lot more to the story.
Today’s change
(-5.68%)$-10.11
Current price
$167.65
Key data points
Market capitalization
$400 billion
Day range
$166.36 -$181.35
Range of 52 weeks
$63.40 -$207.52
Volume
2.4 million
Avg. full
48M
Gross margin
80.81%
The AI choice used: SoundHound AI
SoundHound AI (SOUND +6.32%) works at the intersection of artificial intelligence and voice recognition. The AI platform is designed to enable users to have conversations with voice-enabled services and apps. It also has an app that recognizes music, whether played by a live band, broadcast over the radio, or hummed by the user.
SoundHound has many customers, including White Castle, which uses SoundHound in its drive-thru kiosks; Square, which integrates SoundHound’s platform into its point-of-sale systems; Motorola Solutionsthat SoundHound uses to power its Hello Moto voice assistant; And Snapwhich uses SoundHound to add voice AI to Snapchat’s voice scan camera search feature.
Today’s change
(6.32%)$0.63
Current price
$10.60
Key data points
Market capitalization
$4.5 billion
Day range
$10.14 -$10.63
Range of 52 weeks
$6.52 -$22.85
Volume
27M
Avg. full
34M
Gross margin
30.02%
SoundHound is not profitable, but it is getting bigger. Third quarter revenue was $42.05 million, up 68% from the same quarter last year, and the company has $269 million in cash or cash equivalents with no debt. The stock is up 141% in 2025.
The big choice for AI: Tesla
Tesla (TSLA 2.59%) is an electric vehicle company at first glance, but the work it is doing with AI goes far beyond just cars. CEO Elon Musk has Tesla investing heavily in its AI platform, which manages its self-driving software and trains its networks to recognize things from road layout to driving conditions and predict the paths of other vehicles. Tesla has now made its Robotaxi app available in the US and Canada, and the company appears to be on track to eventually roll it out so Tesla users can monetize their vehicles by making them available as autonomous taxis.
Today’s change
(-2.59%)$-11.65
Current price
$438.07
Key data points
Market capitalization
$1.5 tons
Day range
$435.30 -$458.34
Range of 52 weeks
$214.25 -$498.83
Volume
86M
Avg. full
82M
Gross margin
17.01%
But that’s just a superficial comment. Tesla is also working on Optimus, its general-purpose humanoid robot. Optimus is still far from reality, but Musk has strong incentives to make it happen, given that his new $1 trillion stimulus plan includes a goal that Tesla will successfully build and deploy 1 million Optimus robots.
Tesla stock is up just 14% through 2025. But it could be on the verge of a huge gain, making this “Magnificent Seven” stock an attractive name to watch in 2026.
