2 Game-Changing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now (Hint: Not Nvidia)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for decades. From industrial automation and unbeatable chess engines to self-driving cars and automatic vacuum cleaners, AI-assisted technologies are becoming a normal part of our everyday lives.

But the adoption and general awareness of AI accelerated dramatically in November 2022, when OpenAI released the ChatGPT AI platform. This ultramodern large language model (LLM) could do things previously seen as uniquely human. ChatGPT and its rivals can write halfway decent text, generate nearly photorealistic images and videos, and even create new music from a primordial soup of earlier examples. Large sets of human creations have become fodder for computer-powered, semi-creative productions.

A handful of companies are driving this generative AI boom, led by AI accelerator designer Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). That stock has soared more than 1,000% higher in two years, powered by a 237% uptick in revenues and a ninefold boost to Nvidia's free cash flows. The LLMs you see today wouldn't be possible without Nvidia's high-performance AI accelerator chips, and the company is often seen as the best AI stock on the market today.

But even stellar business performers can become overvalued. Nvidia's stock trades at extremely lofty valuation ratios nowadays, and many die-hard bulls are ignoring the rise of alternative AI hardware solutions.

So I have a few Nvidia shares in my portfolio, but am not eager to buy more today. There are safer AI investments out there, and I'm here to show you a couple of great AI stocks not named Nvidia.

Data collected from Finviz.com and YCharts on 10/18/2024.

Yeah, you heard me: International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) is one of the best AI stocks to buy right now.

Big Blue has been an AI innovator since the 1970s, introducing game-changing technologies such as the first speech recognition system and the first programming language for self-learning manufacturing robots. And IBM's AI interest never faded. The company remains a leading AI researcher today, even though you don't often see its name in generative AI headlines.

You see, IBM lets other companies mess around with consumer-friendly chatbots and image generation systems. Meanwhile, the company focuses its AI products on deep-pocketed enterprise clients. The IBM Watsonx generative AI platform delivers business-oriented features such as deep integration with other business-grade information systems, audit-ready paths from input data to generated content, and robust digital security.