The artificial intelligence (AI) market is booming after substantial advances in 2022, with many of the world's biggest companies venturing into the industry. According to Grand View Research, the AI market was valued at $136.55 billion last year, and will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.3% through 2030. AI will owe much of its future growth to the potential it has to enhance almost any industry, from self-driving cars to healthcare, manufacturing, aerospace, and many more.
As a result, now is an excellent time to consider investing in this burgeoning market. Here are three top stocks to invest in artificial intelligence this March.
1. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT 0.46%) is one of the biggest names in AI right now, with its $1 billion investment in tech start-up OpenAI in 2019 looking like the foresight of the century. In November 2022, OpenAI kicked off the AI race by wowing the tech world with the launch of ChatGPT, an advanced chatbot capable of producing human-like dialogue based on prompts. The software has so far been integrated into Microsoft's search engine Bing, and is available through its cloud service Azure.
The success of ChatGPT has prompted Microsoft to invest a further $10 billion in OpenAi as it strives to keep its lead in the industry, which has posed a real threat to other companies. For instance, Alphabet announced at the beginning of February that AI development would be a stronger focus from now on. The company has since invested $400 million in ChatGPT competitor Anthropic as it works to keep Google's leading market share in search engines.
Microsoft's stock is currently trading at 27 times earnings, a figure that has declined 13% over the last year. As a result, the company's stock offers excellent value and a great way to invest in artificial intelligence.
2. Nvidia
While Microsoft offers the opportunity to invest in the software side of AI, Nvidia (NVDA 4.35%) allows you to back its hardware. The tech giant develops graphics processing units (GPUs) with the power required to run and develop AI software.
Nvidia has already taken promising strides in the industry by announcing a partnership with Microsoft's Azure in November 2022 to build a massive cloud AI supercomputer. The collaboration will combine Nvidia's GPUs with Azure to "help enterprises train, deploy, and scale AI, including large, state-of-the-art models."
In addition to the lucrative partnership, Nvidia has multiple resources on its website for developers to use its devices to push AI forward, with tips on improving speech recognition, machine learning, art design, and more.
Nvidia's stock plunged 50% in 2022, with its business hurt by declines in demand for consumer GPUs. However, AI gives the company a promising opportunity to pivot its business to a high-growth market. Nvidia likely has a critical role to play in the future of AI, making its stock a must-buy this month.
3. Amazon
Amazon (AMZN 1.49%) has used AI to efficiently run its e-commerce business for years, using the technology to track customer searches, recommend products, forecast when products will increase in demand, and even track deliveries.
However, the biggest reason to invest in Amazon is its AI-based cloud services through its cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS). The development of AI is closely linked to the cloud industry, as the technology can enhance many features that businesses worldwide rely on. Amazon already offers AI services through AWS to be applied in machine learning, data science, and more.
The cloud market was worth $483.98 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.1% through 2030. Meanwhile, Amazon's leading 34% market share in the industry gives it an advantage in attracting users to use its AI-based cloud services above others.
Amazon shares were hit hard in 2022, plummeting 49% throughout the 12 months alongside substantial losses in its e-commerce business and macroeconomic headwinds. However, its average 12-month price target of $137.86 is 48% above its current price, prompting an exciting time to invest in artificial intelligence through Amazon's stock.
