AI Bets: Beyond the Nvidia Hype

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It’s that time again. Earnings season. A little like Thanksgiving, if Thanksgiving involved spreadsheets and the quiet desperation of hoping your quarterly projections don’t make you look like a complete fool. Everyone’s fixated on Nvidia, of course. The behemoth. The one stock that’s single-handedly kept several of my cousins in the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to. They’ll report on the 25th, and the analysts will descend, parsing every comma as if it holds the key to the universe. Honestly, it’s exhausting just watching. But I’ve been looking beyond the obvious, trying to find the little engines that might actually, you know, grow.

I’m not saying Nvidia is a bad investment. It’s just… predictable. Like ordering the chicken at a wedding. Safe. And when everyone’s doing the same thing, the real opportunity tends to hide in plain sight. So, I’ve been poking around, and two companies have caught my eye. They’re both reporting on the 26th, and if I’m being honest, I have a slightly irrational fondness for underdogs. It probably stems from being the youngest of five siblings.

CoreWeave: The Data Center People (and My Back Pain)

CoreWeave. Sounds like a Scandinavian crime drama, doesn’t it? They’re building data centers. Not just any data centers, mind you, but ones specifically designed for AI. Apparently, that requires a lot of GPUs, which I understand are those little cards that make everything go faster. My nephew explained it to me once, while simultaneously trying to convince me to invest in Dogecoin. It was a long afternoon. Anyway, they rent out computing power. Think of it like a timeshare for artificial intelligence.

The demand is apparently insane. They have a backlog of $56 billion. Fifty-six billion. That’s enough to make my accountant faint. They’re growing so fast, they’re practically tripping over themselves. And Nvidia, in a rare display of generosity (or perhaps shrewd business sense), invested $2 billion in them. It’s like watching a well-behaved child receive a reward. I’m cautiously optimistic. Plus, they’re going to be among the first to use Nvidia’s new Vera Rubin chips. Apparently, those things are a game-changer. Less energy, more processing power. It’s the kind of innovation that makes me feel slightly less guilty about my carbon footprint.

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SoundHound AI: The Voice in My Head (and Possibly Yours)

SoundHound AI. They do voice recognition. I admit, I was skeptical at first. I’ve had too many frustrating conversations with automated phone systems. But apparently, this is different. They’re not just trying to replace human interaction; they’re trying to improve it. They’re building AI agents that can actually understand what you’re saying. It’s like having a really patient, really efficient assistant. I could definitely use one of those.

The stock has taken a beating lately, down over 65% from its peak. Which, from my perspective, makes it interesting. Everyone runs from the beaten-down stocks, but those are the ones that often have the most potential. They’re trading at less than 20 times sales. That’s a reasonable price, considering the growth they’re experiencing. They’re building a backlog of subscriptions and bookings, currently at $1.2 billion. That’s a lot of voices, a lot of data, a lot of potential. They’re even venturing into the agentic voice AI market, which sounds suspiciously like science fiction. But hey, who am I to judge? I still can’t figure out how my smart thermostat works.

Look, I’m not saying these stocks are guaranteed winners. Nothing is. But they’re interesting. They’re different. And they offer a little bit of hope in a market that often feels… predictable. So, I’ll be watching the earnings reports on the 26th. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be adding a few shares to my portfolio. If only to prove my nephew wrong about Dogecoin.

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2026-02-20 22:02