In this article, we will take a look at the 10 Best Affordable AI Stocks to Buy.
As of 2025, considerable attention has been focused on tariff policies, while AI continues to drive significant trends. Earlier this year, AI stocks experienced a notable decline, with leading tech giants heavily invested in AI contributing to major losses in the S&P 500 index. The launch of the Chinese AI model by DeepSeek challenged existing beliefs about the resources required for cutting-edge AI development.
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According to J.P. Morgan Global Investment Strategist, Ajene Oden, the AI innovation by the Chinese startup prompted investors to reconsider the future strategies of major hyperscalers, who remain committed to increasing their capital expenditures.
“We are confident that AI can catalyze significant productivity improvements across various industries. LLMs are now delivering sophisticated outputs at lower costs, mirroring past technological adoption patterns. As competition grows, prices are likely to decrease, encouraging broader AI integration,” said Oden.
Oden also pointed out that the recent earnings data highlights AI’s positive impact, with companies reporting substantial growth fueled by AI demand. According to research by McKinsey, the deployment of generative AI varies by company size, with companies having over $500 million in annual revenue using gen AI throughout more of their organizations compared to smaller companies.
AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, according to PwC. This would be more than the current output of China and India combined. Out of this, almost $6.6 trillion is likely to come from productivity growth, and $9.1 trillion is expected to come from consumption side effects.
With these industry shifts in mind, let’s turn to the 10 Best Affordable AI Stocks to Buy.
Our Methodology
To compile the list of the 10 best affordable AI stocks to buy, we shortlisted AI stocks with a forward P/E ratio of less than 15. We then ranked these best affordable AI stocks in the ascending order of upside potential. We took the data for the analysts’ upside from the CNN forecast. We also mentioned the number of hedge funds holding stakes in these stocks, and the data for hedge funds is taken from Insider Monkey’s Hedge Fund database, updated as of Q1 2025. The remaining data was taken on August 7.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Affordable AI Stocks to Buy
10. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)
Forward P/E: 14.14
Analyst Upside: 23.79%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 125
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On July 28, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) revealed its pair of smart glasses powered by its AI models.
Alibaba plans to launch the smart AI glasses by the end of 2025 in China. This marks the Chinese e-commerce giant’s first foray into the product category. Alibaba stated that the Quark AI Glasses will be powered by the firm’s Qwen LLM and its advanced AI assistant called Quark. The company also said its glasses will support hands-free calling, music streaming, real-time language translation, and meeting transcription. The glasses will feature a built-in camera as well.
Quark is currently available as an app in China, and Alibaba is entering into the hardware space as a way to widely penetrate the applications. The Quark AI Glasses are a response to Meta’s smart glasses that were designed in partnership with Ray-Ban. The Chinese tech firm will also compete with another Chinese firm, Xiaomi, which launched its AI glasses about a month ago.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) is a leading technology infrastructure and market platform provider. The company operates through seven segments and follows an AI-driven strategy. Alibaba has emerged as a leader in open-source AI, especially with its Qwen series of AI models.
9. Zoom Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM)
Forward P/E: 12.69
Analyst Upside: 24.30%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49
Zoom Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On July 18, Citizens JMP reiterated its Hold rating on Zoom Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) stock with no price target.
Patrick Walravens from Citizens JMP maintained his rating on ZM, citing mixed data points in its assessment of the company. Amazon announced earlier in February that it is shutting down ‘Chime,’ a competitor to Zoom. This is a positive development for the video conferencing firm, and it will potentially open market opportunities.
Walravens pointed out another positive factor for Zoom that a top 20 bank renewed its contract with the company, indicating continued enterprise-level commitment to the platform. The analyst also mentioned that ZM is fairly valued and remains a promising stock.
Zoom is scheduled to report its Q2 2025 earnings on August 21, with analysts expecting an average earnings per share of $1.38 and revenue of around $1.20 billion.
Zoom Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) offers an AI-first work platform for human connection. The company provides Zoom Meetings that allow users to access HD video, voice, chat, and content sharing through their devices.
8. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Forward P/E: 8.94
Analyst Upside: 34.08%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On July 22, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) announced the launch of the industry’s highest-density radiation-tolerant single-level cell (SLC) NAND product.
Micron’s latest SLC NAND product is the first in a portfolio that will have space-qualified NAND, NOR, and DRAM solutions, available with a die capacity of 256 GB. The product is the first in its class to be available from any leading memory manufacturer.
“Micron’s radiation-tolerant memory is essential for storing and processing data as we push the boundaries of computing in space. As AI expands in space operations — from autonomous navigation to real-time analysis — Micron is increasing our focus on delivering solutions that enable the resilience and intelligence needed for next-gen aerospace missions,” said Kris Baxter, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron’s Automotive and Embedded Business Unit.
The space economy is soaring, driven by robust growth in commercial and government missions. With evolving computing and AI, demand for high-performance technology is rising, with the ability to process data directly in orbit. Micron’s radiation-tolerant SLC NAND flash is engineered to withstand the severe space environment and assist space applications.
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is a leading AI-infrastructure company that provides memory and storage solutions for AI applications. The company has a portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND, and NOR memory and storage products.
7. NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE)
Forward P/E: 12.41
Analyst Upside: 34.56%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On August 5, NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) announced that it has renewed its collaboration with RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE:RNG).
Continuing a decade of partnership, NICE and RingCentral extended their relationship to strengthen integrated AI-powered Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions to transform customer engagement.
“The path ahead is about working together collaboratively to unlock more opportunities — and meet businesses wherever they are in their AI journey to modernize how they connect, collaborate, and serve their customers,” said Scott Russell, CEO of NiCE.
This partnership will offer AI-powered customer experience and focus on re-energizing the channel partner ecosystem. RingCentral Contact Center, powered by NICE CXone Mpower, has long been recognized and sold successfully as a leading integrated solution. With a proven track record of 10 years, NICE and RingCentral have reached heights in the UCaaS and CCaaS market, successfully integrating across markets.
NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) is a global enterprise AI software provider. The company serves through these segments: Customer Interactions Solutions, and Financial Crime and Compliance Solutions.
6. EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM)
Forward P/E: 14.24
Analyst Upside: 36.30%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On August 7, William Blair retained its Buy rating on EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM), with no price target on the stock.
Maggie Nolan from William Blair kept her Buy rating on EPAM following strong Q2 FY2025 financial performance and strategic initiatives. The company posted revenue of around $1.35 billion, growing 18% year-over-year and exceeding estimates by $20.09 million. EPAM achieved its third consecutive quarter of positive organic growth during Q2, with a 5.3% organic revenue growth from a year ago. The company is expanding its market-leading position as an AI-native transformation company. With its AI-native revenue rising in double digits sequentially, Nolan believes that this will help EPAM secure new business opportunities.
The analyst is also optimistic about EPAM as the company expects its FY2025 year-over-year growth rate to be in the range of 13-15%. Whereas organic revenue is projected to grow between 3-5% in 2025. The positive outlook is backed by EPAM’s continued organic growth and above-consensus guidance for Q3 FY2025.
EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) is a provider of digital engineering, cloud, and AI-enabled transformation services. EPAM is also a business and experience consulting partner for international enterprises.
5. Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Forward P/E: 14.90
Analyst Upside: 41.90%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On July 30, Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE), keeping the price target at $570.
Kash Rangan from Goldman Sachs kept his rating on ADBE following the company’s Q2 FY2025 results. The analyst remains positive about Adobe’s growth trajectory, mentioning the company’s massive content supply chain platform that has fueled Adobe Experience Platform and Apps subscription up by 40% year-over-year. During Q2, the company achieved record revenue of $5.87 billion, reflecting 11% growth from a year ago. Rangan sees this as evidence of Adobe’s expanding enterprise market share.
The company’s Firefly app is growing rapidly, with first-time subscribers growing 30% year-over-year during Q2. Rangan believes that opens monetization potential for Adobe through higher-priced tiers and generative credit consumption models. Moreover, the company accepts its AI initiatives, such as Acrobat AI Assistant and Firefly, to contribute almost $250 million to the revenue in FY2025. The analyst mentioned that this could provide additional revenue growth as consumption-based AI features scale, especially in areas such as AI-enabled video generation.
Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is a leading technology company that offers AI features through three segments, including Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising.
4. Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT)
Forward P/E: 7.08
Analyst Upside: 43.75%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19
Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On August 4, Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) celebrated its AI leadership by ringing the Nasdaq Stock Market’s opening bell.
Verint Systems’ celebrations highlighted its meaningful performance in AI solutions, including tangible AI business outcomes for customers. The company’s success in AI-driven solutions to customers resulted in its AI annual recurring revenue (ARR) soaring almost 24% during Q1 2025, reflecting nearly half of the company’s total ARR.
“We are thrilled to commemorate Verint’s success in delivering real-world AI business outcomes to brands through ringing the Nasdaq opening bell. Our customers consistently report how Verint’s AI-powered bots drive real results in automating CX workflows, further solidifying our position as the CX Automation leader,” said Verint’s CEO, Dan Bodner.
Verint AI-powered bots have assisted brands with their customer experience (CX) automation. For instance, Volaris utilized Verint IVA to achieve a 70% reduction in cost per interaction and manage 3x more call volume in contact centers, leading to higher customer satisfaction. Another firm, BT Group, used Verint Agent Copilot Bots to improve its CX and employee experience across 4,500 agents and also increase its revenue.
Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) assists brands in enhancing customer experience automation with its differentiated AI-powered Open Platform.
3. Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KD)
Forward P/E: 13.24
Analyst Upside: 49.11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39
Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KD) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On August 6, Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KD) expanded its global strategic alliance with HPE.
Kyndryl’s expansion with HPE is to deliver services that allow and support customer adoption of HPE Private Cloud AI, a turnkey enterprise AI factory solution co-developed with NVIDIA. To enhance these solutions for HPE, Kyndryl provides cloud deployment options designed for specific business use cases.
“Our expanded alliance with HPE illustrates our shared commitment to driving innovation and accelerating customer implementation of private AI solutions. By bringing together HPE Private Cloud AI with NVIDIA AI Computing by HPE and Kyndryl AI consulting expertise, we can empower customers to unlock the full potential of their AI strategies in a scalable, security-rich manner,” said Nicolas Sekkaki, Global Cloud Practice Leader, Kyndryl.
As part of the deal, Kyndryl Consult will offer its AI private cloud services and accelerators to assist seamless customer experience. Kyndryl will use HPE’s observability, automation, and unified control plane solutions to improve the deployment and management of customer AI workloads. Kyndryl accelerators will ensure straightforward integration and optimal utilization of HPE Private Cloud AI across private and on-prem environments. The extended AI-powered solution will support customer AI private cloud uses across industries such as healthcare and financial services.
Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KD) provides generative AI services to enhance workplace efficiency and employee experiences. The company focuses on advancing AI enablement, building employee-centric digital workplaces, and supporting data integration with AI.
2. Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW)
Forward P/E: 6.99
Analyst Upside: 55.42%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19
Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On August 1, Morgan Stanley lowered the price target on Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW) stock from $8 to $7, maintaining its Hold rating.
Benjamin Swinburne from Morgan Stanley slightly adjusted the price target on STGW following the Q2 FY2025 results. The company posted revenue of $707 million, up by 5% year-over-year and surpassing estimates by $14.04 million. Stagwell is experiencing strong growth in its digital transformation segment, citing a 12% rise excluding advocacy. The company is investing in AI and new technologies to reduce costs by nearly 15% and enhance efficiency. The analyst remains optimistic on STGW; however, the company is facing challenges in integrating recent acquisitions and scaling technology initiatives.
Despite the challenges, Stagwell expanded its top client relationships with the top 25 customers, generating $175 million in net revenue, a 26% increase from a year ago. Stagwell has reiterated its full-year 2025 guidance and expects total net revenue to grow by almost 8% and expects adjusted earnings per share between $0.75-$0.88.
Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW) is a digital-first marketing company that uses AI across its various digital tools to enhance creative, media, and communications workflows. The company operates through three segments: Integrated Agencies Network, Brand Performance Network, and the Communications Network.
1. Bit Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BTBT)
Forward P/E: 7.76
Analyst Upside: 103.39%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 6
Bit Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BTBT) is one of the best affordable AI stocks to buy. On July 14, Bit Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BTBT) announced that it signed a placement agency agreement with B. Riley Securities for the purchase and sale of 22 million ordinary shares.
Bit Digital’s ordinary shares were offered at a price of $3.06 per share. The company generated almost $67.3 million in gross proceeds. The company mentioned that it would use the net proceeds to purchase Ethereum.
On July 18, the company announced that it used the proceeds to purchase nearly 19,683 Ethereum (ETH). Following this purchase, Bit Digital now holds 120,306 ETH, making it one of the largest institutional Ethereum treasuries. The company’s CEO said that they view Ethereum as a key to the next phase of digital financial infrastructure. He added, “We remain committed to scaling our ETH holdings as part of that long-term strategy.”
Bit Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BTBT) provides infrastructure for HPC data centers and colocation services for AI and machine learning applications.
While we acknowledge the potential of BTBT to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BTBT and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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