The U.S. stock market has delivered remarkable returns over the past five years, with the S&P 500 achieving double-digit gains in four of those years. While artificial intelligence (AI) and specialized semiconductor chips have largely powered this bull market, many leading tech companies now command premium valuations that may give investors pause.
These premium valuations have prompted savvy investors to seek growth opportunities elsewhere in the tech sector. Rather than paying top dollar for established AI giants, we’ve seen a wave of money move into adjacent sectors poised to benefit from AI adoption, including energy infrastructure, enterprise software, industrial automation, high-performance computing, and robotics.
As AI technology becomes increasingly embedded in both hardware and software platforms, the standout performers of 2025 may well emerge from small and mid-cap companies pioneering innovative applications of this technology. Here are two tech stocks positioned to capitalize on the emergence of next-generation AI in 2025 and beyond.
This post originally appeared at The Motley Fool.