On Monday, the US government revealed that it would further restrict artificial intelligence chip and technology exports. As reported by Reuters, the goal behind these restrictions is to help the US advance its computing power and AI technology, while finding more ways to block China’s access. Under the new regulations, the number of AI chips exported to most countries will be capped, allowing unlimited access to U.S. AI technology for America’s closest allies. Meanwhile, a block shall be maintained on exports to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
“The U.S. leads AI now – both AI development and AI chip design, and it’s critical that we keep it that way”.
-Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
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These regulations are seemingly the last efforts by the Biden administration to maintain US leadership in AI and close any loopholes in controlling the flow of AI chips. The new administration, set to take office on January 20, shares similar views on the competitive threat from China. However, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make significant changes to the Biden administration’s stance on artificial intelligence.
“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI innovation, and imposes radical leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing”.
-A manifesto from the Republican Party platform
With only a few days left until Trump takes office, the recently revealed restrictions on AI chips have been imposed on advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used to power data centers needed to train AI models. Moreover, under the new rules, cloud providers will be able to build data centers by applying for global approval. Once approved, they won’t need export licenses for AI chips which will allow them to build data centers in countries that cannot import enough chips because of the U.S.-imposed quotas. However, these authorized companies must abide by stringent conditions and restrictions, such as security requirements, reporting demands, and a plan or track record of respecting human rights.
Currently, the recent regulation divides the world into three tiers. 18 countries, including Japan, Britain, South Korea, and the Netherlands, will essentially be exempt from the rules. Moreover, 120 other countries, including Singapore, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, will face country caps, whereas arms-embargoed countries like Russia, China, and Iran will not be allowed to receive the technology altogether.
“How effective the rule ends up being in the next 10 to 15 years is now up to the incoming team. They are well aware that ensuring a dominant domestic industry is a core element of competition with China”.
– Meghan Harris, a national security official during the first Trump administration.
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15. Ontrak, Inc. (NASDAQ:OTRK)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Ontrak, Inc. (NASDAQ:OTRK) is an AI-powered, telehealth-enabled, and virtualized healthcare company. Ontrak’s integrated intervention platform uses AI, predictive analytics, and digital interfaces combined with care coach engagements. The platform aims to deliver improved member health, better healthcare system utilization, and robust outcomes and savings.
On January 8, the company announced the signing of an agreement with Intermountain Health’s Medicare Advantage members in Nevada. Under the agreement, Ontrak will be providing its behavioral health solutions to Intermountain Health’s Medicare Advantage members in Nevada. In particular, it will deploy its AI-powered Ontrak Wholehealth+ solution, a comprehensive behavioral health solution offering clinical improvements and cost savings. The solution works by identifying high-cost, high-acuity members with chronic comorbidities and underlying but unaddressed behavioral health conditions, engaging them with care coaching and apt access to treatment.
The agreement is expected to add approximately 2,000 members to Ontrak Health’s outreach pool beginning in mid-February 2025 and will also include an option to provide the Ontrak Engage solution, a coaching-specific program for identifying members who would benefit from ongoing coaching.
“Our partnership with Intermountain Health represents a significant step forward in transforming behavioral healthcare delivery for Medicare Advantage members. By integrating our behavioral health care coaching model across the full spectrum of mental health needs, we are demonstrating how innovation can expand provider access, improve health outcomes, and reduce total cost of care. This value-based partnership with Intermountain Health aligns perfectly with our mission to make high-quality behavioral healthcare accessible and affordable for seniors”.
-Mary Lou Osborne, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Ontrak Health.
14. Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ:PDYN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ:PDYN) is a developer of artificial intelligence software focused on autonomy for robotic systems. On January 13, the company announced that it had been awarded a new contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to update the Palladyne™ Pilot AI software platform (“Pilot”) to next-generation, U.S.-made AI computing chipsets. Migrating the AI software platform to next-generation AI chipsets will help improve the performance and efficiency of the software for its intended applications. As quoted by Dr. Peter Zulch from AFRL, Pilot will be able to offer Air Force drone operators a powerful tool for improving tactical missions as well as expand the universe of small UAV platforms on which Pilot will be available.
“Our development work with AFRL on the Pilot AI software platform has been critical to evolving the technology to benefit our DoD customers. By evolving Pilot to be able to operate on these next-generation AI chipsets, in addition to the AI chipsets from Nvidia and Qualcomm that we are already operating on, we believe we will have the opportunity to deliver the benefits of our enhanced autonomy Pilot platform to the vast majority of small drone platforms that will be deployed in the coming years”.
– Ben Wolff, CEO, Palladyne AI.
13. Penguin Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Penguin Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENG) is a leading AI infrastructure provider for organizations looking to build and operate state-of-the-art generative AI facilities. On January 12, the company announced that it had entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with SK Telecom and SK hynix for the development and delivery of comprehensive AI data center (“AIDC”) solutions. The agreement was signed at the CES 2025 in Las Vegas, following SKT’s 200 million investment in Penguin Solutions.
It is anticipated that Penguin will be able to efficiently deliver AI infrastructure solutions and services to additional markets and regions through the collaboration. Penguin Solutions’ Scyld ClusterWare software will be integrated with SKT’s AI infrastructure management software to enable easier and more efficient deployments of AI. Additionally, SK hynix and SMART Modular Technologies, a product brand of Penguin Solutions, also plan to collaborate for developing innovative memory solutions.
“We are committed to solve the complexity of AI by designing, building, deploying, and managing cutting-edge solutions that enable us to support our customers on their AI journeys. This collaboration agreement reflects a shared vision of leveraging our companies’ combined strengths to deliver a broad portfolio of high-performance AI solutions to customers across the globe.”
-Mark Adams, president and CEO of Penguin Solutions.
12. T Stamp Inc. (NASDAQ:IDAI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 3
T Stamp Inc. (NASDAQ:IDAI) is a software company that develops proprietary artificial intelligence-powered solutions, particularly in identity authentication. On January 6, the company announced a strategic transaction with Qenta Inc., a financial technology company. Under the transaction, Qenta will be spinning off Goldstar KYC technology into a newly formed subsidiary, QID Technologies LLC (“QID”). Trust Stamp will have a 10% ownership interest in the new entity, while the company itself will provide a non-exclusive license of its AI-powered identity technologies to QID in exchange for a single $1m license fee receivable to be paid in three installments over Q1 of 2025. Starting January 1st, 2025, QID will also be paying a monthly service fee capped at $3.6 million annually to Trust Stamp for business development, product development, and product operations for identity and privacy services and solutions. The projected $3.6m in billed revenue is anticipated to result in a net cash inflow of $3.3m.
“This strategic transaction brings together Trust Stamp’s unique AI-powered identity authentication and tokenization technology, Qenta’s global asset tokenization capability, and the power of the QOS permissioned blockchain. The result is a robust identity and asset ecosystem designed to resist threats, including quantum computing, ransomware, and deepfake technologies. From a Trust Stamp perspective, the transaction is immediately accretive in that we have been able to restructure and reallocate existing resources to service this new revenue stream without incurring additional expenses. QID is a perfect fit for our mission of accelerating secure financial and societal inclusion. The partnership allows our AI-powered technology to be deployed in a wider range of large-scale use cases, including national identity programs while providing Trust Stamp with potentially valuable equity participation and offsetting a significant proportion of our operating costs”.
- Gareth N. Genner, CEO of T Stamp Inc. (NASDAQ:IDAI)
11. Tempus AI, Inc (NASDAQ:TEM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 7
Tempus AI, Inc (NASDAQ:TEM) is a healthcare technology company that provides AI-enabled precision medicine solutions. On January 13, the technology company announced the development of its first whole-genome sequencing test, xH, using artificial intelligence. This test aims to enhance precision medicine and patient care, particularly in hematological ontology. Tempus will be building on its AI-enabled diagnostic platform with xH, helping facilitate personalized treatment decisions as well as a more precise understanding of patients’ unique genetic profiles. xH is currently available for research use only (RUO) and will be clinically available within the next year.
“xH is our first product leveraging the full genome in our effort to provide meaningful insights into complex diseases. By scaling whole-genome sequencing, we are positioned to transform patient care in hematological oncology and eventually all solid tumors, shaping the future of precision medicine and accelerating therapeutic advancements in partnership with the pharmaceutical community”.
-Eric Lefkofsky, Founder and CEO of Tempus.
10. SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) is a voice artificial intelligence company offering voice AI solutions to businesses. On January 7, the company unveiled its first-ever in-vehicle voice commerce platform with a demo at CES 2025. The in-vehicle voice commerce platform will allow users to order simply by speaking into their vehicle, allowing them to order takeout for pickup directly from the car’s infotainment system.
Customers can use their vehicle’s infotainment system to order food from the most convenient locations on their route, make seamless payments, and then navigate to the pickup point, all while completely hands-free. This will also allow them to eliminate the time taken at drive-thru lanes and collect food timed with the vehicle’s GPS navigation, such that they can enjoy hot and fresh food which is ready by the time they arrive. CES attendees were able to try out the innovative AI software and experimented with ordering from a range of restaurants integrated into SoundHound’s platform.
“This incredible moment has been decades in the making. With a technology that can exceed expectations, an ecosystem of millions of cars connecting to national restaurant brands with thousands of locations, we can finally launch the vision we have talked about for years. What we’re introducing here at CES is a seamless way to order your favorite takeout on-the-go using natural speech, completely hands-free from the vehicle. And what begins here with food and restaurants will ultimately open up a whole new commercial ecosystem for vehicle and device manufacturers everywhere”.
-Keyvan Mohajer, CEO and Co-Founder of SoundHound AI.
9. CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17
CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA) provides innovative silicon and software IP solutions. On January 7th, CEVA Inc. and Edge Impulse, a leading-edge AI platform, announced a breakthrough in computer vision capabilities for embedded ML applications with NVIDIA Tao. NVIDIA Tao is an open-source AI toolkit that helps users develop vision AI models. By bringing NVIDIA Tao’s computer vision models to the Ceva portfolio, users can open up new use cases for IoT products that require visual data generation and analysis across industries.
“Our continued collaboration with Edge Impulse will further accelerate development of embedded AI applications for NeuPro-Nano leveraging Edge Impulse Studio’s low/no-code environment to deploy end-to-end AI applications. Furthermore, our enablement of the NVIDIA TAO toolkit on NeuPro-Nano marks a major milestone, allowing AI developers to access, retrain and deploy TAO models through the Edge Impulse Platform on NeuPro-Nano NPU’s. This collaboration emphasizes our commitment to simplify AI adoption at the edge, offering ease of use to our customers and partners”.
-Chad Lucien, Vice President and general manager of the sensor and audio business unit at Ceva.
8. Informatica Inc. (NYSE:INFA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Informatica Inc. (NYSE:INFA) is a leader in enterprise AI-powered cloud data management. On January 10, the company announced that it had expanded its partnership with Google Cloud. The partnership expansion will allow its Cloud Data Governance and Catalog (CDGC) to be available on Google Cloud as a transactable offering on Google Cloud Marketplace. It is built on the foundation of Informatica’s AI-powered Intelligent Data Management Cloud™ (IDMC), offering customers a robust data governance and catalog solution. Through CDGC, businesses can now easily govern, classify, define, discover, catalog, and measure data across the enterprise.
“AI-driven cataloging and governance capabilities provide a rich metadata foundation that is critical for modern analytics and AI initiatives, including Informatica’s recently-released Gen AI Blueprint for the Vertex AI platform and Gemini models. We are excited to offer CDGC natively on Google Cloud so Google Cloud customers can classify, secure and democratize their critical data assets and achieve transformative AI and analytics driven outcomes”.
-Rik Tamm-Daniels, Global Vice President of Strategic Ecosystems and Technology at Informatica.
7. Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA) is a digital solutions provider offering enterprise asset intelligence solutions in the automatic identification and data capture solutions industry. On January 9th, the company launched several new products and AI innovations for the retail industry. The solutions are being showcased as part of Zebra’s AI-powered Modern Store at NRF 2025 Retail’s Big Show on Jan. 12-14, 2025, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. A prominent solution by the company has been Zebra Mobile Computing AI Suite, a comprehensive set of tools that facilitate the development of AI applications. This multimodal generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) solution, developed in collaboration with select customers, will allow working with frontline retail workers to improve productivity and uplift the customer experience.
“For years, we’ve been embedding AI into our products, elevating outcomes for our customers and partners. Our AI-enabled solutions are shaping the future of frontline operations by creating new ways of working. We’re proud to collaborate with our extensive partner community and customers to enhance our AI and GenAI capabilities to automate workflows, streamline processes and boost efficiency, making work easier every day”.
– Yogesh Kulkarni, Vice President, AI Strategy, Zebra Technologies.
6. AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
AppLovin Corporation (NASDAQ:APP) provides a leading marketing platform powered by AI technology. On January 10, Benchmark analyst Mark Zgutowicz initiated coverage of AppLovin with a “Buy” rating and a $375 price target. The analyst noted that Applovin offers an AI-powered advertisement platform for optimizing user acquisition, engagement, and monetization, alongside handling a diverse portfolio of mobile apps.
As such, the firm views continued advancements in its AXON AI technology as a core catalyst that can help the company sustain long-term revenue growth. The analyst also told investors that the company’s expansion into new verticals such as e-commerce and connected TV, as well as “substantial growth” within its core advertising business in mobile gaming, offer potential revenue growth and opportunities for profitability expansion.
“Key catalysts include continued advancements in its AXON AI technology, which not only enable the company to expand into new verticals such as e-commerce and connected TV, but also drive substantial growth within its core advertising business in mobile gaming”.
-Analyst Mike Hickey wrote in a note to clients.
5. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE), an American multinational technology company, provides high-performance computing (HPC) systems, AI software, and data storage solutions for running complex AI workloads. On January 13, the company announced new connectivity solutions designed to help retail customers improve customer experiences and operational efficiency. Showcased at the NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show, HPE Aruba Networking has unveiled its retail-ready networking portfolio that focuses on providing secure and reliable connectivity with edge computing, helping retailers modernize operations.
The portfolio includes Cellular Bridge for easy-to-deploy primary or backup WAN access in case fiber or broadband WAN circuits are unavailable or experience failure, a compact switch for edge computing, wireless access points to power AI retail applications, and AI Insights for optimizing retail curbside operations.
“Retailers facing challenges in warehousing, inventory control, and omnichannel fulfilment need comprehensive and secure connectivity to enable digital modernization and enhance customer experiences. HPE’s networking solutions bring real-time IoT data processing and AI inferencing closer to the source of data generation to fuel omnichannel shopping strategies that increase revenue”.
-Stuart Strickland, wireless chief technology officer, HPE Aruba Networking.
4. Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70
Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) engages in the development and production of semiconductors. On January 6, the company announced that it has advanced its custom XPU (AI accelerator) architecture with co-packaged optics (CPO) technology. The innovative architecture will allow cloud hyperscalers to develop custom XPUs that achieve higher bandwidth density and deliver longer reach XPU-to-XPU connections within a single AI server. Consequently, it enhances the performance of these AI servers. Marvell reports that the new architecture is now available for Marvell customers’ next-generation custom XPU designs.
“The Marvell custom AI accelerator with CPO architecture enables cloud hyperscalers to develop custom XPUs that will significantly increase the density and performance of their AI servers. Integrating optics directly into XPUs takes custom accelerated infrastructure to the next level of scale and optimization that hyperscalers must deliver to satisfy the growing demands of AI applications”.
-Will Chu, senior vice president and general manager of the Custom, Compute and Storage Group at Marvell.
3. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is an automotive and clean energy company that leverages advanced artificial intelligence in its autonomous driving technology and robotics initiatives. On January 13, Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on Tesla (TSLA) to $430 from $400 and kept an “Overweight” rating on the shares. According to the firm, there is scope for 2025 to be “a year where the market’s appreciation for Tesla’s unique combination of skills can be further reflected in the multiple”.
This scope offsets challenges in the electric vehicle market because even though “autos still matter”, Tesla’s focus on the “embodied AI” thesis, where Tesla embodies AI into its products, is the primary driver for the upside to Tesla’s story.
2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a technology company. Recently, the company has had underwhelming upgrades and competitors that have led the iPhone maker to lose market share in the final quarter of 2024. Bloomberg cited research by Counterpoint Research data, stating how the iPhone’s market share slipped a point to 18% worldwide in 2024. As per the research, the company marked a 2% sales decline for the full year, while the wider market grew 4% globally.
On the other hand, Android device makers from China, led by Xiaomi Corp. and Vivo, have been gaining strength in the region. Since Apple’s new artificial intelligence suite isn’t available in China, the lack of AI availability has hindered its performance in the region. The company is currently striving to partner up with local players to provide features such as AI writing assistance and image generation. Nevertheless, Apple’s AI hasn’t been all the rage, either.
“Apple’s iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch. However, Apple continued to grow strongly in its noncore markets like Latin America”.
– Counterpoint director Tarun Pathak.
1. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 235
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a global technology company. On January 10, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, said that the company will start automating the work of midlevel software engineers this year. Speaking on an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, Zuckerberg stated that some of the biggest tech companies, including Meta, are already working on this. Even though it may initially be expensive, the company is anticipated to reach a point where all of the code in its apps and the AI it generates will be done by artificial intelligence. Consequently, Meta may eventually outsource all coding on its apps to AI.
“Probably in 2025, we at Meta, as well as the other companies that are basically working on this, are going to have an AI that can effectively be a sort of midlevel engineer that you have at your company that can write code”.
While we acknowledge the potential of META as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 META but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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