Reuters reported on Tuesday that OpenAI has been unsatisfied with some of Nvidia’s latest artificial intelligence chips, seeking alternatives since last year. Sources familiar with the matter note how this may complicate the relationship between two of the biggest players in the AI boom.

The ChatGPT maker is rethinking parts of its hardware strategy as it places an increasing emphasis on chips used to perform specific elements of AI inference. This is the stage at which an AI model is able to respond to customer queries and requests.

Even though Nvidia continues to dominate the AI chip market, inference is increasingly emerging as a new and increasingly important battleground. OpenAI’s decision represents a test of Nvidia’s dominance, particularly as the two companies are now in investment talks.

Back in September, Nvidia had announced its intent to pour as much as $100 billion into OpenAI as part of a deal that gave it a stake in the startup and also OpenAI the cash it needed to buy the advanced chips.

While the deal had been expected to close within weeks, negotiations have been dragging on for months. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang brushed off these rumors, stating that the company has planned a huge investment in OpenAI.

“Customers continue to choose NVIDIA for inference because we deliver the best performance and total cost of ownership at scale,” Nvidia said in a statement.

For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q3 2025.

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10. Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) is one of the 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Watching. On January 30, Jefferies analyst Joseph Gallo reiterated a Hold rating on the stock with an $80.00 price target. The firm anticipates a modest Q4 beat but will wait for clearer visibility into 2H26 momentum.

The cybersecurity company is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings on February 5. The research firm forecasts Fortinet to exceed consensus billings growth estimates of 12% year-over-year by an estimated 1-2%, driven by improved survey data.

However, Jefferies has flagged several 2026 metrics imply a high expectations, including consensus expectations for billings growth, services revenue growth, and operating margins.

Since the current sentiment toward software stocks is weak, the firm remains cautious heading into the print and waits to be constructive until there is visibility for a potential product refresh and services rebound in the second half of 2026.

“We expect FTNT to beat 4Q cons 12% YoY billings by 1–2%, supported by improved survey. Our convos indicate appetite to eventually own shares but several CY26 metrics imply high opening guide bars (11% YoY cons ’26 billings, 13% YoY services rev & 34% OPM). Given deteriorating software sentiment, we remain cautious into the print but expect set-up to improve in future Qs & wait to be constructive till there’s visibility for 2H26 prod refresh/services rebound.”

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT), a cybersecurity company, provides enterprise-level next-generation firewalls and network security solutions, leveraging artificial intelligence across its cybersecurity products.

9. QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is one of the 10 AI Stocks Analysts Are Watching. On February 2, Bernstein SocGen Group analyst Stacy Rasgon lowered the price target on the stock to $200.00 (from $215.00) while maintaining an “Outperform” rating. Despite certain risks, the firm is constructively positive on the stock driven by a developing undervalued growth narrative.

Bernstein noted how the QCOM shares have lagged in recent months due to factors such as a general distaste of smartphones, AAPL roll off, and recent dynamics in the memory market. While the demand for smartphones has been fine, investors remain cautious about the forward outlook.

Despite these concerns, the firm believes QCOM may be more insulated due to its over-indexing to the higher-end segment, even though it is not necessarily immune to broader industry headwinds.

The firm further added that as Apple-related revenues diminish over time, QCOM’s strong product portfolio, growing adjacencies, and an emerging AI story will allow the company’s underlying strength to become more visible.

QCOM’s current valuation is at less than 13x forward earnings, representing an estimated 44% discount to the S&P 500 and a 56% discount to the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX). This implies potential value despite concerns about the company operating in out-of-favor market segments.

“We get that the stock plays in out-of-favor areas, numbers might be too high, etc. But we still think the story is worth a look as the narrative grows cleaner through the year. We lower our PT to $200 to reflect lower estimates, but maintain our Outperform rating.”

QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) develops wireless technologies, supplies chips for mobile, automotive, and IoT, licenses patents, and invests in emerging tech.