In this article, we discuss the 11 AI news you should not miss.
Reviewing Rising AI and Security Trends
Cloudflare recently released its fifth annual Year in Review report which highlights trends in internet usage and security, with a focus on AI advancements. Codeium, Claude, and CoPilot entered the top ten most popular generative AI services, while OpenAI maintained its lead. The report also revealed an increase in malicious traffic, with 6.5% of global traffic flagged as potentially harmful. AI bots, like Bytespider and ClaudeBot, were identified as some of the most active, although their traffic slightly decreased over the year.
Other key findings include a rise in government-directed internet shutdowns, with over half of global outages linked to these actions, and the Gaming and Gambling industries becoming the most targeted by cyberattacks.
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The Impact of AI on Investment Strategies and Market Trends
In a CNBC interview, Angie Newman of UBS Private Wealth Management discussed the challenges posed by geopolitical uncertainty and changing interest rates, emphasizing that stocks and bonds often become more correlated during such times. To hedge against this, she recommended diversifying into alternative assets with low correlation to traditional investments, such as gold and private equity.
She highlighted sectors within private equity, including real estate and data centers, as strong performers, especially with the rise of AI. Regarding AI, Newman noted the importance of diversifying portfolios by considering both tech giants and second and third-tier beneficiaries, such as companies benefiting from AI integration, including those with healthy P/Es and dividends. AI, she believes, will be a key driver of equity returns across various sectors.
Navigating Data Complexity in the AI Era
On December 10, NetApp released a report that stressed the importance of investing in unified data strategies and highlighted the growing need for security and sustainability as AI use expands. The Data Complexity Report highlighted the challenges and opportunities of managing data for AI as organizations move from experimenting with AI to scaling its use.
Key findings include the need for significant investment in AI and data unification, which 79% of tech executives see as crucial for success. Security concerns are rising, with 41% predicting more threats in 2025, especially in AI-leading nations. Sustainability remains a focus, though its importance has slightly declined. The report emphasized that secure, unified, and sustainable data strategies are essential for leveraging AI’s transformative potential while maintaining resilience and innovation.
For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
11 AI News You Should Not Miss
11. Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Safe Pro Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAI) manufactures personal protective gear and ballistic protection products while also offering drone-based inspection services for infrastructure. The company uses AI for data analysis and reporting, providing solutions for public safety, emergency management, and critical infrastructure inspection.
Safe Pro (NASDAQ:SPAI) filed a provisional patent for a new technology on December 10. The technology uses drones and AI to improve the precision of object detection, reducing false positives when identifying explosives, landmines, and unexploded ordnance. This follows the company’s previous patent for their SpotlightAI platform, which uses AI to analyze drone imagery for locating and mapping explosives.
The technology has already been used in Ukraine, identifying over 16,500 landmines. Safe Pro’s IP portfolio also includes patents for autonomous detection and identification of explosives, and the technology is scalable for use in several industries, including humanitarian demining, agriculture, and defense.
10. Perfect Corp. (NYSE:PERF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 9
Perfect Corp. (NYSE:PERF) provides AI and AR-powered solutions for the beauty, fashion, and skincare industries, including makeup, skincare diagnostics, and virtual try-ons. The company offers several AI-driven tools for photo editing, product recommendations, and personalization.
On December 10, Perfect (NYSE:PERF) released findings from its 2024 holiday retail survey, revealing consumer trends for the upcoming season, showing that 52% of shoppers are using or plan to use AI in their shopping. Key insights include a shift toward budget-conscious shopping, with 66% of consumers planning to spend less, and a preference for omnichannel shopping, as 60% favor both online and in-store experiences. Consumers are increasingly seeking personalized and technology-driven shopping, with 23% wanting virtual try-ons and 26% valuing AI-powered virtual assistants.
9. iLearningEngines, Inc. (NASDAQ:AILE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 10
iLearningEngines, Inc. (NASDAQ:AILE) offers an AI-driven platform for personalized learning. On December 10, iLearningEngines (NASDAQ:AILE) provided updates on its Special Committee’s internal investigation, leadership changes, and a Nasdaq compliance issue. The investigation, prompted by allegations from an August 2024 Hindenburg Research report, is reviewing the company’s revenues, contracts, partnerships, and AI models. Pending its conclusion, several executives have been placed on administrative leave, while some retain board positions. Thomas Olivier has been appointed Interim CEO.
8. Rubrik, Inc. (NYSE:RBRK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
Rubrik, Inc. (NYSE:RBRK) offers AI-driven data security solutions, including protection for enterprise, cloud, and SaaS data, along with analytics and cyber recovery services. The company serves various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and technology.
On December 10, Rubrik (NYSE:RBRK) announced the integration of Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) with Cyber Recovery in its Security Cloud platform, offering improved data visibility and protection across cloud, SaaS, and on-premises environments. The solution aims to address data risks associated with generative AI by simplifying DSPM deployment for existing customers without additional data scans.
Rubrik DSPM allows organizations to classify sensitive data, fix permissions, and correct labeling to prevent unauthorized access and reduce exposure risks. It supports secure AI adoption by streamlining data security and reducing deployment complexities. The service will be available in early 2025, using Rubrik’s existing infrastructure to minimize disruptions and enhance cyber resilience.
7. Samsara Inc. (NYSE:IOT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 30
Samsara Inc. (NYSE:IOT) connects physical operations data to its cloud platform, offering AI-driven insights for industries like transportation, logistics, and healthcare. Its solutions include video safety, vehicle telematics, and equipment monitoring to improve operational efficiency, safety, and compliance.
Fraikin Group is expanding its partnership with Samsara (NYSE:IOT) to improve its fleet management and support decarbonization efforts across Europe. Following the successful deployment of Samsara’s AI technologies in 5,000 UK vehicles, Fraikin is integrating them into 60,000 vehicles across Europe.
This collaboration incorporates Samsara’s real-time data and telematics into Fraikin’s NeXa platform, improving fleet maintenance, operational efficiency, and fuel savings. The technology also supports Fraikin’s goal of transitioning to zero-emission transport, providing customers with tools for adopting electric vehicles and alternative fuel solutions. This partnership strengthens Fraikin’s leadership in sustainable fleet management.
6. Elastic N.V. (NYSE:ESTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47
Elastic N.V. (NYSE:ESTC) is an AI-focused search company offering cloud-based solutions, including data search, analysis, and visualization tools. Its products integrate AI with search engines, log analysis, application monitoring, and security to help businesses manage structured and unstructured data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Elastic (NYSE:ESTC) introduced Elastic Rerank on December 10, a cross-encoder reranking model powered by AI, improving text search with semantic capabilities without requiring reindexing. The model integrates into the Elasticsearch Open Inference API, enabling developers to boost keyword search accuracy by adjusting query parameters. Built on the DeBERTa v3 architecture, Elastic Rerank delivers high performance and efficiency, achieving up to 90% improvement in question-answering tasks and a 40% uplift across various retrieval tasks.
5. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR) offers data center, hosting, and interconnection services through its global platform, PlatformDIGITAL. Wells Fargo increased its price target for Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) from $185 to $210 and maintained an Overweight rating on the stock, as reported by The Fly on December 10. The firm is positive about data center stocks, including Digital Realty, for 2025 as it expects strong leasing activity, higher market rents, and a good outlook for the company’s growth. The firm forecasts that the company will experience significant growth in earnings, with a projected increase of 8%-10% or more in its earnings per share by 2026.
4. ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 78
ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) provides an AI-powered workflow automation platform that enables digital transformation across industries. Its offerings include AI, machine learning, robotic process automation, and process mining to optimize business operations and enhance customer and employee experiences.
ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) was named a Leader in Forrester’s Q4 2024 Wave for Task-Centric Automation Software (TCAS), recognized for its Automation Engine, which integrates RPA, AI, process mining, and real-time data streaming. Forrester praised its AI capabilities, vision, and strong partnerships.
The report highlighted ServiceNow’s ability to combine task automation with a comprehensive platform approach, while VP Amit Saxena emphasized the role of data and AI in driving long-term process improvements. Powered by generative AI, Automation Engine automates tasks, improves workflows, and supports tools like Now Assist and AI Agents to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
3. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 123
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a software company offering solutions across digital media, digital experience, publishing, and advertising. Its AI-driven platforms enhance creative tools like Creative Cloud and provide data-driven insights for customer experience management in marketing and commerce.
On December 10, Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX) and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) announced a partnership integrating Adobe Express as the default image editor within Box, enabling users to create and edit visual content directly in the platform. Powered by Adobe Firefly’s generative AI, Adobe Express offers business-safe features, allowing enterprises to confidently deploy them. The integration supports various teams, from marketing to HR and sales, by streamlining content creation within Box’s secure Intelligent Content Management platform.
Box CEO Aaron Levie highlighted the role of AI in improving collaboration and reducing content sprawl, while Adobe’s Govind Balakrishnan emphasized addressing enterprises’ growing need for high-quality, scalable content. Future plans include additional AI and video editing features, with many joint enterprise customers already leveraging this collaboration.
2. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 235
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) focuses on products that enable global connectivity and facilitate communication. It is investing heavily in AI with its language models and also using it in its AR/VR technology. The Fly reported on December 10 that Piper Sandler increased Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) price target to $670 from $650, maintaining an Overweight rating. The firm highlighted strong teen engagement on Instagram and Facebook, noting this as notable given Meta’s scale. It also praised Meta’s leadership, calling its CEO the best in the consumer internet space. While not directly reflected in its survey, the firm views Meta as a leader in artificial intelligence technology.
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 286
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a global tech giant recognized for its e-commerce platform and also provides a comprehensive AI suite, featuring custom processors and Amazon Bedrock for AI development.
Roth MKM recently raised its price target for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to $250 from $220, maintaining a Buy rating after attending AWS Re:Invent. The firm also named it a Top Mega Cap pick for 2025. Roth MKM is more confident in Cloud demand as Gen AI capabilities advance, and believes AWS is set for growth in AI Cloud. The firm highlighted Amazon’s rapidly developing full-stack AI cloud, including Bedrock and in-house silicon. Moreover, CEO Andy Jassy highlighted that AWS’s Gen AI investments are improving efficiency in Retail, potentially boosting margins.
While we acknowledge the potential of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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