Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve and advance rapidly, becoming increasingly integrated in the automation of everyday life and a focal point of growth in the technology sector.
AI is also becoming a major focus for the Australian government, whose budget for the 2023/2024 fiscal year outlines a plan to invest AU$101.2 million in AI development and adoption over the coming years. That includes AU$17 million announced in December 2023 to fund up to five AI Adopt Centres for small- and medium-sized businesses.
According to a September 2023 report from IDC on worldwide AI spending, Australia, along with Korea and India, is leading the Asia-Pacific region in spending on AI solutions; the three countries are also leading when it comes to AI adoption in the area. Spending in the region, excluding Japan and China, is expected to reach US$28.2 billion by 2027.
Although the AI market is relatively small in Australia, it’s growing. To help investors understand the options available, the Investing News Network used TradingView’s stock screener to find the top AI stocks on ASX by market cap. All ASX AI stocks data was current as of October 17, 2024; companies whose businesses are focused mainly on AI were considered.
1. NEXTDC (ASX:NXT)
Market cap: AU$11.13 billion
Share price: AU$17.30
NEXTDC is Australia’s leading data centre operator, with 13 functioning centres throughout Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Japan, and nine more currently in the works. The company has forged several business and academic partnerships to enhance Australia’s digital infrastructure.
NEXTDC revealed last September that it would be partnering with La Trobe Business School’s Research Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition on research into future theoretical and practical applications of AI across a range of industries.
On August 6, NEXTDC obtained NVIDIA’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) DGX-Ready Data Center Program certification, enabling them to optimize NVIDIA’s AI platforms and power advanced AI data centres in Australia. The company is also this year’s recipient of the Australian Data Centre Service Company of the Year award, an accolade given to companies that demonstrate excellence and innovation in the Australian data services industry.
2. Appen (ASX:APX)
Market cap: AU$488.95 million
Share price: AU$2.03
Appen began in 1996 as an automated speech recognition startup by a couple based in Sydney, New South Wales. Today, the company operates as a trusted partner to firms transitioning to AI usage, with a suite of industry-specific large language models and AI-training products.
In January, long-time partner Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) cut ties to focus on in-house AI. Despite the loss of Google’s business, Appen’s Q2 2024 results showed revenue growth and a positive month-on-month trajectory. Following their release on July 30, the company’s share price leapt 55.81 percent from the prior day, and it has continued upwards, rising over 200 percent since then.
3. BrainChip (ASX:BRN)
Market cap: AU$475.48 million
Share price: AU$0.23
BrainChip is the company behind Akida, a revolutionary digital neuromorphic chip that’s built with a spiking neural network, a type of artificial network that mimics the way messages are passed between neurons in the human brain.
Because the AI is inside the chip, the chip can learn on its own and is not reliant on the cloud or other networks. This makes it much more secure and reduces latency as well. The company’s lowest-power version, Akida Pico, was released on October 1.
On June 5, the company released a white paper for its newly developed technology called TENNs-PLEIADES, an efficient AI processor that can perform complex tasks like decision-making, object recognition and data analysis. Unlike Akida, this chip is designed for spatiotemporal classification and detection using event-based data, making it particularly well-suited for low-latency applications such as self-driving cars.
4. Ai-Media Technologies (ASX:AIM)
Market cap: AU$167.87 million
Share price: AU$0.76
Ai-Media Technologies is a global media access provider with operations in four key regions: Australia and New Zealand, North America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and Asia. It was founded in 2003 by Tony Abrahams and Alex Jones, who was born deaf, and began trading on the ASX on September 15, 2020.
The company uses its AI-powered LEXI captioning solution to transcribe speech, making media accessible to all. It is now one of the world’s leading caption and translation providers, with monthly delivery of over 9 million minutes of captioned live and recorded media, according to its website.
5. Bigtincan Holdings (ASX:BTH)
Market cap: AU$147.9 million
Share price: AU$0.17
Bigtincan Holdings is a sales platform that uses AI to help companies improve their customers’ buying experience by making the process more efficient and personalised. Bigtincan’s list of partners includes Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE), SalesForce (NYSE:CRM) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Its large language model, GenieAI, was launched in March 2023.
Bigtincan’s H1 fiscal year 2024 report revealed that GenieAI started generating revenue during the period, and the company reported positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), up 136 percent from the previous reporting period. On September 10, the company partnered with SambaNova, a company providing “the world’s fastest AI platform,” to enhance Bigtincan’s SearchAI.
FAQs for investing in AI
What is artificial intelligence?
AI is defined as human intelligence exhibited by machines. The development of graphics processing units with faster and more powerful chips has supported the emergence of AI technologies.
Where is AI used?
AI has been heralded as a technology of the fourth industrial revolution, with heavy investment from industries including transportation, manufacturing, education and agriculture. Some of the sectors that will likely see the fastest AI investment growth in the coming years are healthcare, pharmaceutical research, retail, industrial automation, finance and intelligent process automation.
How to invest in AI stocks?
Investors looking to capitalise on AI’s growth potential have a number of entry points when it comes to stocks. It’s key for each person to practise due diligence and speak to their broker to determine the most suitable investments.
The companies listed above have a strong focus on AI, but investing in companies that are using AI as part of a larger business model is one way to gain indirect exposure to the sector. Examples of stocks like this on the ASX include Block (ASX:SQ2), WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), Seek (ASX:SEK) and Xero (ASX:XRO).
For a more diversified approach, the Betashares Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX:RBTZ) invests in companies involved in the development of AI applications all across the globe. Investing in an exchange-traded fund is a low-cost way to benefit from a sector without directly buying individual stocks.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2020.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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