Two of the hottest artificial intelligence (AI) stocks heading into 2025 are Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) and SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN). Both stocks had a phenomenal 2024, with Palantir's stock up almost 400% and SoundHound AI's gaining nearly 900%.

A rate-cutting campaign by the Federal Reserve, a resilient economy and strong corporate earnings provided another solid backdrop for the stock market in 2024. After a stellar 2023, it was a great year for growth stocks in the software space like Palantir Technologies and AppLovin after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite confirmed new uptrends in early November 2023 with one-day gains of more than 1.

Seemingly overnight, artificial intelligence became a major growth industry. The AI boom is driving demand for semiconductors, which are crucial components in AI systems. Two compelling semiconductor companies to consider are Wolfspeed (NYSE: WOLF) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD).

Cathie Wood didn't jump on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon. Her Ark Innovation ETF has been invested in AI for more than a decade. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) lists AI at the top of the list of disruptive innovations that should deliver strong long-term growth.

Two prominent companies in this area are quantum computing company IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and semiconductor-giant Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Through Dec. 11, IonQ's share price was up around 140%, and Nvidia's had risen about 180% in 2024.

SoundHound AI's voice AI and conversational intelligence solutions are being rapidly adopted across various sectors. The company's self-built Polaris foundation model helped improve the accuracy of its offerings while reducing hosting costs.