Artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting the playbook for nearly every major tech company. Because the AI development game is still in its early innings, there remain plenty of opportunities to rack up points. And it's a perfect time to jump into some of the leaders in the space. Here are five names that are already shaping the future of AI that investors might want to consider buying for the long haul. 1. Nvidia AI remains a potential game-changing technology that is still in its early innings. The compan ...

OpenAI's shift toward open models has hit a new landmark. You can now download two open-weight reasoning models, similar to its o-series, right now on the developer platform Hugging Face.Why does this matter? OpenAI hasn't actually launched an open model since GPT-2 five years ago, and it has long prioritized closed-source, proprietary models. But with Meta's continued focus on its open Llama models, open models from Chinese companies like DeepSeek, Alibaba, and pressure from the Trump administration to foc ...

CHONGQING, CHINA - JULY 28: In this photo illustration, a smartphone displays the logo of Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in front of a screen showing the company's latest stock market chart on July 28, 2025 in Chongqing, China. (Photo illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images) Getty Images Meta stock (NASDAQ:META) has already achieved remarkable gains, growing 2x from $370 levels in early 2024 to approximately $780 at present. But what could drive t ...

Core Insights - Investors should focus on companies with strong growth potential, competitive advantages, and adaptability to technology trends Group 1: Nvidia - Nvidia is the leader in AI infrastructure, holding a 92% market share in Q1 [2] - The company's competitive edge lies in its CUDA software platform, which has been widely adopted in research and development [3] - Nvidia is expanding into new markets, including autonomous driving, while recently receiving approval to sell H20 chips in China [4] Group 2: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is the leading chip foundry, producing chips for major companies like Nvidia and Apple [6] - The company has seen a rise in revenue from high-performance computing, which now constitutes 60% of its revenue, up from 52% a year ago [7] - TSMC's advanced manufacturing capabilities position it as a key player in the growing AI and autonomous driving markets [8] Group 3: Meta Platforms - Meta Platforms is leveraging AI to enhance its digital advertising capabilities, increasing user engagement on Facebook and Instagram [9] - The company is beginning to monetize WhatsApp and Threads, which have significant user bases, providing a long growth runway [10] - CEO Mark Zuckerberg is investing heavily in AI talent to achieve ambitious goals, positioning Meta as a potential leader in AI [11] Group 4: GitLab - GitLab is evolving into a comprehensive software development lifecycle platform, integrating AI to enhance development processes [12] - The introduction of over 30 new features in GitLab 18 aims to improve efficiency across the software development lifecycle [13] - GitLab's focus on AI-driven solutions positions it well for future growth in an increasingly AI-centric software landscape [13] Group 5: Toast - Toast is becoming essential in the restaurant industry by providing software that enhances operational efficiency and sales [14] - The integration of AI tools like ToastIQ is helping restaurants make data-driven decisions in real time [15] - As restaurants face economic pressures, Toast's technology solutions offer significant growth opportunities in a large and fragmented market [16]

Core Insights - Meta Platforms and Tesla are evolving beyond their traditional identities as a social media company and an electric vehicle maker, respectively, into broader technology powerhouses [1] - Both companies are making significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI), positioning themselves for future growth and innovation [15] Meta Platforms - Mark Zuckerberg has invested $14.3 billion to acquire 49% of Scale AI and is actively recruiting top AI talent with offers exceeding $10 million per year [3][5] - Meta has developed a robust AI infrastructure, with its Llama models leading the open-source approach to large language models, contrasting with competitors' closed systems [4][6] - The company forecasts that its generative AI products could generate between $460 billion and $1.4 trillion in revenue by 2035, leveraging its vast user base of 3.3 billion daily active users [6][7] - Despite skepticism from Wall Street regarding talent retention, Meta is focused on redefining the AI landscape through substantial capital investment and open-source development [7] Tesla - Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin with a small fleet, marking a shift from being solely an automaker to an AI robotics company [9][10] - The company plans to produce 5,000 units of its humanoid robot, Optimus, in 2023, with projections to increase to 50,000 by 2026, targeting various industries [11] - Tesla's vertical integration allows it to design its own AI chips and software, creating a competitive advantage over companies like Boston Dynamics [12] - The robotaxi service serves as a testing ground for Tesla's AI, generating data that enhances both autonomous driving and robotic navigation [13] - Musk believes Optimus could become the most valuable asset for Tesla, addressing global labor shortages and transforming multiple sectors [13][14] Investment Perspective - Both Meta and Tesla are making bold investments in AI that carry risks but also present significant long-term growth potential [15] - These companies are viewed as generational investments in the future of technology, driven by visionary leadership willing to take substantial risks [15]

Group 1 - Meta is restructuring its AI department into two teams: an AI products team and an AGI Foundations unit, with no job cuts reported [1] - The AI products team will focus on consumer-facing applications, including AI features in Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and a new stand-alone AI app [1] - The AGI Foundations unit will concentrate on broader initiatives, such as enhancing the Llama models [1] Group 2 - Meta is actively competing with companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, launching initiatives to maintain its market position [2] - The company introduced a Llama for Startups program to promote the use of its products in generative AI applications among early-stage companies [2] - Meta's LlamaCon event in April was aimed at demonstrating its competitive capabilities against OpenAI [2]

Group 1 - Meta held its first AI developer conference, LlamaCon, announcing a consumer-facing AI chatbot app and a developer-facing API for Llama models [1] - The releases aim to expand the adoption of Meta's open Llama AI models, with a primary goal of competing against OpenAI [2][5] - The AI chatbot app features a social feed for sharing AI chats and offers personalized responses based on user activity within Meta apps [3] Group 2 - The Llama API simplifies app development by allowing developers to connect to Llama models with a single line of code, reducing reliance on third-party cloud providers [4] - Meta's strategy includes undercutting proprietary AI model providers like OpenAI, with executives previously focused on surpassing OpenAI's GPT-4 [5] - Meta views any AI lab that makes its models openly available as allies against closed model providers, emphasizing the value of open-source models [6][7] Group 3 - Meta's approach may also be influenced by regulatory considerations, as the EU AI Act provides advantages to companies distributing "free and open source" AI systems [7] - The company appears willing to launch AI products that bolster the open model ecosystem, even if it means not delivering the most advanced models [8]