Which stock is the bigger winner over the last 12 months: SoundHound AI (SOUN 0.40%) or Nvidia (NVDA 1.06%)? The correct answer is SoundHound AI, thanks largely to a huge surge in the latter part of 2024.
While SoundHound AI isn't nearly as well-known as Nvidia, it's no longer flying under the radar as it once did for many investors. Could buying this up-and-coming artificial intelligence (AI) stock now be like buying Nvidia in 2023?
NASDAQ: SOUN
Key Data Points
Nvidia two years ago
To answer that question, we need to look back to see where Nvidia was two years ago. OpenAI had launched ChatGPT a year earlier. Organizations worldwide were scrambling to develop generative AI applications.
Nvidia sat in the catbird seat. Its GPUs were the gold standard in powering AI models. Although the company's primary focus in the past was gaming, its growth was tied to the data center market. And Nvidia was definitely growing. The chipmaker reported its fiscal 2024 third-quarter results on Nov. 21, 2023. Revenue more than tripled year-over-year.
The company was also innovating at a frantic pace. Nvidia announced the forthcoming launch of its HGX H200 with a Tensor Core GPU. It introduced an AI foundry service to speed the development of generative AI applications. The company's CUDA Quantum platform for quantum computing (now known as CUDA-Q) was gaining momentum.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
Similarities with SoundHound AI now
Are there similarities between SoundHound AI now and Nvidia then? Yep. Like Nvidia, SoundHound AI markets the best-in-class products in its market. In this case, it's the voice AI market. SoundHound's technology is utilized by a "who's who" in the automotive and restaurant industries and is attracting new customers in other sectors.
SoundHound AI is also growing rapidly. Its revenue jumped 68% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025. The company expects full-year revenue will more than double its 2024 total.
Like Nvidia in 2023, SoundHound AI is a powerhouse of innovation. As a case in point, IDC MarketScape recently named the company a leader in general-purpose conversational AI platforms. IDC's Hayley Sutherland said that SoundHound's platform "is rapidly updating with new and enhanced features to serve a breadth of businesses across a variety of front and back office use cases."
Image source: Getty Images.
Notable differences between the two companies
However, there are some notable differences between SoundHound AI now and Nvidia in 2023. One biggie is the two companies' bottom lines. Nvidia was highly profitable two years ago. SoundHound continues to post losses.
The competitive landscapes are also quite different. Nvidia was (and is) the 800-pound gorilla in the AI chip market. SoundHound AI is a leader in the voice AI market, but it faces formidable competition.
We also can't overlook valuation. In late 2023, Nvidia's shares traded at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of around 21. SoundHound AI currently sports a forward P/S multiple of 28. And its growth prospects don't appear to be quite as solid as Nvidia's looked two years ago, either.
SoundHound AI isn't the next Nvidia
I don't think buying SoundHound AI now is like buying Nvidia in 2023. Although there are similarities, the differences between the two companies are significant.
That said, SoundHound AI could still be a winner for investors over the long run. The company could have tremendous growth prospects as voice AI gains widespread adoption. I believe agentic AI presents a particularly attractive growth opportunity for SoundHound. Voice AI is also gaining momentum outside of the company's current core automotive and restaurant markets.
Wall Street is bullish about SoundHound AI. The average 12-month price target for the stock represents a potential upside of 50%. That's higher than the 36% gain that analysts project for Nvidia over the next 12 months.
To be clear, SoundHound AI isn't the next Nvidia. But it doesn't have to be to still deliver market-beating returns.
