Beyond Nvidia: 5 Lesser-Known AI Stocks Poised For Growth To Buy Now

Forbes

a day ago

Nvidia is not the sole beneficiary of the generative AI boom.
Nvidia is the best-known company capitalizing on the generative AI boom that began in 2023, when ChatGPT quickly scaled to over 100 million users. In fact, it was Nvidia's first-quarter 2023 report, which featured a decline in revenue and forecast huge growth, that made me realize a new technology wave was building akin to the internet boom of the 1990s.
Nvidia's prospects gave me the kick to write a book, Brain Rush, published last year. Since then I have continued to track publicly-traded companies that benefit from growth in demand for generative AI.
In my book I mapped out the generative AI value network, including AI chip producers, data center technology makers, cloud services providers, large language model builders, generative AI application developers and AI business consultants.
From this network, I created an index of publicly-traded companies in the generative AI ecosystem. Based on the performance of this index, I have identified five lesser-known AI stocks poised for growth.
5 Lesser-Known AI Stocks Poised for Growth To Buy Now
1. CoreWeave (CRWV)
CoreWeave is a New Jersey-based provider of cloud computing services for AI developers and enterprises. Its stock market value has soared 308% since it went public in March. CoreWeave's stock rise can be attributed to the company's torrid revenue growth – up 420% in the quarter ending in March, according to a CoreWeave investor letter.
Retail investor interest in the company and partnerships with leading AI companies have also contributed to the stock's performance. Specifically, CoreWeave partners with Nvidia, which Fortune reported invested in CoreWeave before it went public, as well as OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT.
CoreWeave is on my list because its exceptional growth exceeded my expectations and its stock-price increase leads the pack of Nvidia peers. Prior to the company's initial public offering, I highlighted key risks – CoreWeave's dependence on a few large customers, the company's heavy debt load and the CEO's lack of experience running a public company.
But if the company can keep exceeding high growth expectations, its shares could rise more.
2. Palantir Technologies (PLTR)
Denver-based Palantir Technologies provides software to help public and private-sector clients identify trends, detect fraud and optimize operations through big data analytics. It has enjoyed an 81.3% increase in its stock price in the first half of this year.
Palantir achieved rapid growth and high profitability. For example, the company's revenue increased 39.3% in the first quarter while generating an impressive 24.2% net profit margin, according to a Palantir investor letter.
Why is Palantir on a list of AI stocks? Palantir is one of the few companies that have been able to generate substantial revenue growth from the application of generative AI, as I wrote in February. Indeed with the exception of Nvidia, no other company has achieved such significant growth from generative AI-powered products.
What's more, Palantir recently raised its revenue growth forecast for the year from 31% to 36%. In addition to benefiting from government contracts provided by the Trump administration, Palantir stock could be propelled by potential contracts for projects such as the Golden Dome – a U.S. missile shield akin to Israel's Iron Dome.
Citi Research analyst Tyler Radke is not all smiles. Investor's Business Daily reported recently that after meeting with Palantir management, Radke wrote, "We continue to have concerns on how Palantir stock can grow into its valuation, especially if magnitude of positive revisions slow or large contracts (Golden Dome) don't materialize as expected."
3. Snowflake (SNOW)
Snowflake, a Bozeman, Montana-based provider of data analysis services, has enjoyed a 42.1% increase in its share price during the first half of the year. While Snowflake is unprofitable, the company's revenue grew nearly 26% in the quarter ending in April, CNBC reported.
Behind the increase in Snowflake's stock price are successful initiatives to integrate generative AI into the company's products, as well as partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic, according to CNBC. In addition, Snowflake exceeded investor expectations and raised its growth guidance.
Snowflake is growing thanks to its new CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy, whom I interviewed in May 2024. When Ramaswamy took over as chief executive in February 2024, I was unsure whether he would be as successful as his predecessor, Frank Slootman, who handed over the top job because his successor had a deeper understanding of AI.
Since then, Ramaswamy has given Snowflake's generative AI strategy new life. Indeed, I am including Snowflake on my list because a Snowflake manager told me at a conference in San Francisco in May 2025 that Ramaswamy is doing an excellent job of leading the company's AI product development.
4. Meta Platforms (META)
Shares of Meta Platforms, the social media parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, rose 23% in the first half of the year. In the first quarter of 2025, Meta reported 16.1% revenue growth and earned a whopping 39.3% net profit margin, according to Meta's investor letter.
The company has distinguished itself from rivals by using AI to help digital ad buyers sell more. In addition, Meta's investments in AI-powered products such as Meta AI could become a new growth curve, as I wrote last October.
Meta is on my list because the company is betting heavily on AI. Its new 'Superintelligence Labs' unit, led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, could create new growth curves for the company, Barron's reported.
However, a note of skepticism is called for because Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has bet big in the past – remember the metaverse, which drove the company's name change from Facebook? That bet has produced billions of dollars worth of losses and does not appear poised to pay off.
Nevertheless, Meta could surprise me if the company can attract and motivate the talent needed to surpass more focused rivals like OpenAI and Perplexity.
5. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC)
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor, which makes the chips Nvidia and others design, have risen 12.3%, increasing steeply, since late April. TSMC grew revenue 41.6% in the first quarter and earned a 43% net profit margin, according to the company's investor letter.
While tariff uncertainty and geopolitical instability could threaten TSMC, a long-standing partnership with Nvidia could propel TSMC stock higher. Analysts project growth in TSMC's AI-related revenue as high as 45% annually, with some forecasting a 45% compound annual growth rate through 2030, according to AInvest.
If this prediction is realized, investors could benefit from owning TSMC stock.
Bottom Line
Nvidia is not the sole beneficiary of the generative AI boom. Other companies who play in the AI ecosystem – CoreWeave, Palantir, Snowflake, Meta Platforms and TSMC – may also enjoy big increases in their stock prices. Investors should consider whether to add them to their portfolios.