We recently compiled a list of the 15 Best Small Cap AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) stands against the other small cap AI stocks.
Smaller-cap AI stocks may present potentially attractive investment opportunities for investors seeking exposure beyond the already well-known Big Tech giants. Many of these companies operate quietly under the radar, developing specialized AI products, software, and applications that could significantly impact various sectors, from healthcare and finance to cybersecurity and manufacturing. While large-cap technology leaders have already benefited greatly from early enthusiasm and experienced significant stock-price appreciation during calendar 2023-2024, smaller AI-focused companies often remain relatively undiscovered and undervalued. This positions them as potential second-wave beneficiaries, providing investors with an attractive entry point into the next stage of AI-driven growth. As the market increasingly recognizes the commercial viability and disruptive potential of these innovative, smaller-cap players, their stocks could offer substantial upside compared to their larger, more mature counterparts.
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The first wave of AI beneficiaries during 2023–2024 was largely limited to GPU manufacturers, semiconductor equipment providers involved in GPU production, and Big Tech companies that acquired GPUs and built data centers to secure the computing power needed to support the AI revolution. However, after two years of aggressive spending, 2025 is shaping up to be the year that determines whether further capacity is truly needed. The actual capabilities of AI remain largely at the level seen in early 2023 when ChatGPT was first introduced. With no major technological breakthrough to date, analysts have begun to question whether such massive hardware investments are justified. The issue was further amplified in January 2025, when a Chinese startup claimed to have trained an AI model with performance comparable to U.S. large language models – at only a fraction of the cost. If true, the Chinese firm DeepSeek could disrupt the AI training and inferencing market, potentially undermining the prevailing thesis that the world needs hundreds of billions in GPU infrastructure to meet computing power demand.
The aforementioned developments may have important implications for global markets. On one hand, the first-wave beneficiaries of AI could face a correction as demand for GPUs weakens and the substantial hardware investments made in 2023–2024 prove excessive. On the other hand, a second wave of beneficiaries may emerge, as Chinese technology drives down the cost of AI training and inferencing, effectively lowering barriers to entry for startups and companies operating on tight budgets. With significantly reduced costs to enter the market, hundreds of startups and small-cap companies may accelerate the development of AI products and solutions with practical, mass-market use cases. If successful, we could witness the rise of an entirely new cohort of winners. With that in mind, the key takeaway for readers is that this may be the right time to look for potential second-wave AI winners – particularly among small-cap companies with market capitalizations under $5 billion.
Also, macroeconomic conditions may become more favorable in the coming quarters, further supporting smaller-cap companies. Despite the Fed keeping interest rates steady at the latest FOMC meeting, we believe that deteriorating GDP growth forecasts from the Atlanta Fed – driven by early Trump 2.0 policies – may increase the likelihood of interest rate cuts in upcoming meetings. This view is reinforced by the impending public debt rollover, which may need to be financed at lower interest rates to maintain the US debt servicing capacity at reasonably healthy levels. Lower interest rates are generally favorable for small caps, as they reduce financing costs and support capital allocation toward growth projects.
A close-up of the fingers of a technician scanning an ID, verifying the Enrollment Verification process.
Our Methodology
For this article, we used Finviz to screen for technology stocks under a $5 billion market cap. Although small-cap stocks typically have a market cap under $2 billion, we included companies below $5 billion to add more AI firms. We then manually selected companies that have significant revenue exposure or potential growth opportunities related to AI products & solutions. Finally, we compared the list with our proprietary Q4 2024 database of hedge funds’ ownership and included in the article the top 15 stocks with the largest number of hedge funds that own the stock.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) is a technology company that provides identity verification and access control solutions through its secure biometric platform. Its core offering, CLEAR Plus, enables expedited entry at airports by using fingerprint and iris recognition to verify identities. The company also offers digital identity tools for venues, stadiums, and other businesses, expanding its platform into areas such as health pass verification and age validation. YOU operates across the travel, sports, entertainment, and healthcare industries, with partnerships spanning major US airports and event venues. The company leverages AI to enhance biometric matching, fraud detection, and real-time identity verification, supporting future expansion into AI-driven security and identity solutions.
The year 2024 was transformational for Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) as the company’s momentum accelerated in bringing its secure identity platform to more people in more places. The company achieved significant operational milestones, with CLEAR Plus now covering approximately 73% of airport volume through 166 lanes nationwide. The implementation of NextGen Identity has improved customer experience substantially, with 50% of members getting through CLEAR lanes in less than 2 minutes, 85% in under 5 minutes, and 91% in less than 7 minutes. The company’s EnVe rollout, which is expected to be complete by March, is delivering significant operational efficiencies by serving members with 30% fewer pods while being 5x faster.
In terms of financial performance, Q4 revenue, and total bookings grew 21% and 17% respectively, driven by member growth, pricing, strong member retention, and improvements in win-back activity. Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) achieved a 24% full-year adjusted EBITDA margin, representing an improvement of over 1,000 basis points year-over-year. Total cumulative enrollments reached 28.9 million by year-end, with a record growth of 2.5 million in the quarter. Looking ahead to 2025, management expects another year of strong top-line growth, continued margin expansion, and free cash flow of at least $310 million. The company is also making strong progress with its emerging businesses, including TSA PreCheck and CLEAR1, which are contributing to total bookings and gross profit dollar growth. With 27 hedge funds owning the stock, YOU is one of the best small cap AI stocks to buy right now.
Overall you ranks 12th on our list of the 15 best small cap AI stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of YOU 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 time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than YOU but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
