Top Investment Options for Distributing a Thousand Dollars Immediately
It's never too early or too late to dip your toes into investing, especially in the tech sector, as it's got a superb track record of helping individuals build wealth over time. You don't need a fortune to start – even $100 can be a good start, thanks to commission-free trading offered by many online brokers. Let's delve into three tech stocks that can make great beginnings for a new investor:
1. Nvidia
Nvidia (NVDA 2.86%) is the poster child of the AI boom, thanks to its graphic processing units (GPUs) that lay the foundation for AI infrastructure. Originally developed to enhance video game graphics, GPUs have proven to be incredibly valuable in AI tasks that require fast, powerful computing. With this capability, its chips have become the main component for training AI models and running AI inference. While Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a formidable competitor, Nvidia has created a moat with its CUDA software platform, which allows GPUs to be programmed for tasks beyond graphics rendering. This software platform was introduced before AI was mainstream, and developers have grown accustomed to it, which has led to Nvidia's holding an approximately 90% market share in the GPU space.
Moving forward, the ever-evolving demand for more powerful and sophisticated AI models presents a significant opportunity for Nvidia, as these models require increasingly powerful GPUs to be trained on. While some advanced AI models are currently being trained on 100,000-to-200,000-GPU clusters, future models are expected to need even more powerful clusters with 1 million or more GPUs.
2. Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOGL -0.76%), best known for Google Search, is a lot more than an online search engine. It is, in fact, the largest digital advertising company in the world, with its ad tech solutions available to properties like YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and third-party websites. YouTube is the leading streaming platform in terms of viewership, with North America not even being its largest geographic area – Asia-Pacific takes that title. In addition to its extensive ad revenue, the platform has grown its ad-free premium subscriptions to over 100 million users.
But it's not just about the online advertising game for Alphabet. With AI workloads fueling demand for cloud computing services, Alphabet's cloud division has seen explosive revenue and profit growth. The company has also developed its own custom AI chips, used within its data centers, with the help of Broadcom.
Beyond its traditional businesses, Alphabet also has a slew of emerging ventures with significant potential. Its robotaxi subsidiary, Waymo, has surged ahead of the competition as the only company in North America offering paid rides. Meanwhile, the company recently made a significant breakthrough in quantum computing.
3. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT -0.53%) is no stranger to success, with its productivity software solutions like Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint packing a powerful punch. Its Windows operating system still holds the largest share in the PC operating system market, while the company's cloud computing division, Azure, is the second-largest and fastest-growing in the industry. Meanwhile, the Xbox video game console and the video game maker Activision Blizzard sit in Microsoft's portfolio, alongside the social networking site LinkedIn and software development platform GitHub.
Microsoft was one of the first major tech companies to embrace AI and make it mainstream, with a large investment and partnership in OpenAI. Like Alphabet, Microsoft's cloud business has seen impressive growth, with Azure OpenAI usage doubling in the last six months as it helps users build out their own AI agents and applications. As the demand for AI grows, Microsoft isn't shy about investing to expand its capacity and meet the market's needs.
One of Microsoft's most exciting opportunities moving forward is with its AI copilots, available in Microsoft 365 subscriptions. With AI copilots available for its productivity tools, users can complete more advanced tasks, which can be a powerful incentive to upgrade to a 365 subscription. At a cost of $30 per month per Microsoft 365 enterprise user, this AI-driven growth driver should add significant value for Microsoft moving forward.
- If you're interested in investing in the tech sector and have an eye for AI-related companies, you might want to consider Nvidia (NVDA 2.86%). Its graphic processing units (GPUs) are essential for AI infrastructure and have a strong market share due to its CUDA software platform.
- When it comes to digital advertising, Alphabet (GOOGL -0.76%) is the largest player, with its ad tech solutions available on platforms like YouTube and Google Search. Beyond advertising, Alphabet is also making strides in AI, cloud computing, and emerging ventures like robotaxis and quantum computing.
- Microsoft (MSFT -0.53%) is another tech giant that's thriving in AI, with significant investments in open-source AI research and its AI-driven productivity tools available in Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Its cloud computing division, Azure, is also growing rapidly, providing a solid foundation for future AI projects.
- For those with an interest in finance and technology, investing in tech stocks like Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft can be an excellent way to diversify your portfolio, especially in commission-free trading platforms available online. Using platforms like GitHub, you can collaborate with other tech enthusiasts and expert developers, such as those contributing to AI projects with Copilots.
