Virtual reality (VR) has shown up in a number of devices and iterations since the early 1990s. However, recent advances in the technology have only just made it possible for VR to fulfill the experience developers have been after for years.

Sony and Meta have dominated the industry since around 2015 with their headsets, mainly geared toward VR gaming. According to Grand View Research, the VR market was valued at $21.83 billion in 2021 and will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% through 2030. As a result, the industry is looking increasingly attractive to other tech giants considering joining the high-growth market.

It's still fairly early days for VR and its potential in industries outside of gaming, making now an excellent time to invest. Here are two virtual reality stocks to buy right now.

1. Apple

Acquisitions and filed patents related to VR technology outed Apple's (AAPL -0.57%) planned venture into the industry long ago. However, reports have revealed that 2023 will finally be the year the tech giant unveils its mixed-reality headset.

Bloomberg reported on Jan. 23 that Apple's coming device would switch between VR and augmented reality (AR), using an iOS-like interface. While some of VR's biggest proponents over the years have been gamers, Apple's headset is expected to build on what Meta has strived for with advanced video conferencing and meeting features through its app, FaceTime.

Apple's expected venture into VR is especially promising due to its past success in entering new markets. The company has a proven talent for launching entirely new products and quickly rising to dominance in their respective industries. Apple has done this with smartphones, tablets, Bluetooth headphones, and smart watches, all of which might have experienced far slower mainstream adoption without the company's influence.

Moreover, the inclusion of AR capabilities in Apple's reported headset would see it enter a market worth $25.33 billion in 2021 and expected to see a CAGR of 40.9% through 2030.

As a result, an investment in Apple's stock could be an investment in the future leader of two high-growth industries: Augmented and virtual reality.

2. Advanced Micro Devices

As a leader in PC components like central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 0.69%) is home to the hardware necessary to run virtual reality programs. In fact, AMD has already partnered with Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality, HTC's Vive, and Meta's Oculus to power their respective VR headsets.

Moreover, AMD has a history of providing its hardware to top tech companies. It supplies the graphics and processing power through its system on a chip to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S game consoles. These partnerships paid off substantially in 2022 amid steep declines in the PC markets that led to reduced sales in AMD's related segments.

While the company's gaming business suffered from decreased demand for consumer GPUs, the segment reported revenue growth of 21% to $6.8 billion in fiscal 2022. The growth was almost entirely driven by console sales and its partnerships with Sony and Microsoft.

As VR develops, it will likely see broader adoption in industries such as education, healthcare, design, and more, as it has the potential to enhance many fields. Meanwhile, tech titans like Apple joining the market have the potential to invite more competition and increase the opportunities for AMD to use its hardware in VR.

AMD shares have soared 27% year to date. However, they remain down 21% year over year. Meanwhile, the company's forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 26.7 has declined 22% over the last year, representing a bargain compared to its biggest competitor Nvidia, with a forward P/E of 54.6.

As a result, AMD is an excellent stock through which to invest in virtual reality, and a bargain buy right now.