2 No-Brainer Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy for 2026 With $5,000 Right Now

If you're looking to put $5,000 into artificial intelligence (AI) for next year, you'll want to go with stocks that have strong growth and solid visibility. Let's look at two stocks that fit the bill.

1. Broadcom

Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) has become a force in the world of AI. The company has long been a strong player in data center networking components that are needed to move data inside and between data centers.

However, its biggest opportunity lies in ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), which are custom chips that are pre-programmed to handle specific tasks. With companies looking to get the most out of their AI infrastructure spending and lower costs, they are increasingly turning to Broadcom to help design custom AI chips as an alternative to graphics processing units (GPUs).

Image source: Getty Images.

Alphabet was one of the first companies to partner with Broadcom, and now its tensor processing units (TPUs) power much of Google Cloud's AI workloads. It later added Meta Platforms and ByteDance as customers, and has projected that those three customers alone could represent a $60 billion to $90 billion revenue opportunity in fiscal 2027.

Broadcom also just recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to develop and deploy 10 gigawatts worth of custom AI chips and networking components by the end of 2029. To put that into context, a single gigawatt of data center power typically translates into about $35 billion in chip spending. As such, this could turn into a $100 billion annual market opportunity for Broadcom in a couple of years.

Meanwhile, Broadcom also said that a $10 billion AI chip order from a unnamed fourth customers didn't come from OpenAI. The company has reportedly been working with Apple, and this could be an indication that the iPhone maker is much further along in its custom AI chip design than expected.

With multiple customers now using Broadcom to develop custom AI chips, the company is well-positioned to see very strong growth in the coming years. That's why it's one of the best AI stocks to make an investment in right now.

2. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) has become one of the most important companies in the AI industry, as chip designers such as Broadcom and Nvidia rely on it to make their most advanced chips. Producing chips at the smallest possible node sizes with high yields is extraordinarily difficult, but it's where TSMC shines.

Nearly three-quarters of TSMC's revenue now comes from chips made on 7-nanometer nodes or smaller, and its 3-nanometer technology has already become a meaningful contributor. The company plans to begin 2-nanometer production as soon as next year and is already looking toward moving to 1.6 nanometers.

TSMC's ability to continue to push down node sizes while achieving high yields at scale has made it more than just a semiconductor contract manufacturer -- it's become a vital partner to leading chipmakers.

Demand for AI chips continues to fuel growth for TSMC, with the company reporting a 41% increase in revenue when it recently reported its Q3 results. Meanwhile, it expects to demand for AI chips to grow at a mid-40% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next several years. Given that leading chipmakers need to work with TSMC to secure future capacity, it should have strong visibility into future growth.

Overall, TSMC remains one of the key players in global semiconductor supply chain. No matter which chip designer takes market share in the AI semiconductor space, they will all need TSMC's fabs to make their chips. That's why it's one of the best AI stocks to own for next year and beyond.

Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.