Investing in emerging technologies is never for the faint of heart. These companies often trade more on potential than on current results, making them volatile and unpredictable. Breakthroughs in semiconductors, robotics, or new transportation platforms can send shares soaring. Missed milestones, regulatory delays, or cash burn can just as quickly send them crashing back down.
That boom-or-bust profile means these stocks aren't core holdings for most investors. But for those building well-diversified portfolios, taking a small position in promising names can offer exposure to massive long-term themes like artificial intelligence (AI), surgical robotics, and electric air mobility.
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Here are three emerging tech stocks that could deliver outsize gains if their ambitious plans play out.
Power behind the AI boom
Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS 2.13%) designs gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors for AI data centers. The company addresses power delivery challenges as data centers scale to handle increasingly demanding AI workloads.
In May 2025, Nvidia selected Navitas to collaborate on its next-generation 800-volt HVDC data center architecture, which Nvidia says begins rolling out in 2027. The system converts grid AC power to 800-volt DC at the perimeter, then steps down to lower voltages needed for GPU and IT racks using Navitas chips.
The Nvidia partnership sent shares soaring 83.5% in the first half of 2025, but the company faces a significant execution challenge. Navitas generated just $83.3 million in revenue for full-year 2024 and remains deeply unprofitable.
To scale commercial production, the company brought in Chris Allexandre as CEO in September 2025, a semiconductor veteran who ran Renesas Electronics' $2.5 billion power management business and led its acquisition of GaN supplier Transphorm. If the 800-volt architecture gains adoption as expected, Navitas sits at the center of a multibillion-dollar infrastructure buildout.
Democratizing robotic surgery
SS Innovations International (SSII 4.83%) builds surgical robotic systems designed to make advanced procedures affordable and accessible globally. As of Sept. 30, 2025, the SSi Mantra has an installed base of 125 units across six countries, with more than 6,000 surgical procedures performed, including 60 telesurgeries and 310 cardiac operations.
The near-term catalyst is U.S. market entry. In September 2025, SS Innovations completed a human factors validation study at Johns Hopkins Hospital, meeting FDA requirements for usability and patient safety. The company plans to submit a 510(k) premarket notification in Q4 2025, targeting clearance in the first half of 2026 based on standard review timelines.
The challenge is competing against Intuitive Surgical, which dominates robotic surgery with its da Vinci system. SS Innovations positions itself as the affordable alternative, targeting underserved markets and price-sensitive hospital systems. The company remains unprofitable but points to thousands of procedures completed as validation of its technology and market traction.
Flying into urban mobility
Vertical Aerospace (EVTL -1.36%) develops the VX4, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to carry four passengers and a pilot at cruise speeds around 150 mph over ranges of approximately 100 miles. In July 2025, the company completed a piloted airport-to-airport flight, flying 17 miles from Cotswold Airport to RAF Fairford and reaching speeds of 115 mph at altitudes near 1,800 feet.
Vertical targets 2028 certification through the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority and European Union Aviation Safety Agency. The company has deepened its collaboration with Honeywell to certify critical flight control and avionics systems. Mudrick Capital is now the majority shareholder following a December 2024 agreement that converted $130 million of debt into equity and committed up to $50 million in additional funding.
The path forward requires demonstrating reliable transition flight between vertical lift and wingborne flight, scaling manufacturing, and securing regulatory approval. During its September 2025 Capital Markets presentation, Vertical stated that up to $700 million in additional funding is projected as needed to reach 2028 certification, with existing funds carrying operations through the end of 2025.
