Got $1,000? 2 High-Growth Artificial Intelligence (AI) Moonshots With Massive Upside Potential.

Many investors may be looking for some moonshot stocks that can deliver incredible returns in a short time frame. However, with high return potential comes increased risk, as the market prices stocks according to their risk and return levels.

As a result, investors should keep exposure to these stocks to a minimum, as disaster could strike. But if they pan out, the upside is enormous.

Two stocks I think can deliver huge returns if they pan out are IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and Nebius (NASDAQ: NBIS). Both of these represent a shift in AI computing and could be major winners over the next decade.

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1. Nebius

Nebius is a neocloud company, which means it has a cloud computing platform that's targeted toward AI workloads. That's a great business to be in right now, as countless AI firms are looking to maximize their available computing power.

Nebius has several strong partnerships and backers, with Nvidia being a major investor. Nebius also has deals to provide Microsoft and Meta Platforms with computing power. Those agreements are poised to deliver monstrous growth for Nebius if they are realized.

So far, it has worked out great for Nebius, as it's delivering jaw-dropping growth. In the first quarter, revenue rose by an impressive 684% year over year. Wall Street expects Nebius to continue these ludicrous growth rates for the foreseeable future, as analysts project 541% growth for 2026 and 236% growth for 2027. If Wall Street is correct on its projections, Nebius's revenue will have risen from $530 million at the end of 2025 to $11.4 billion at the end of 2027 -- a twentyfold rise in two years.

That's a textbook definition of a moonshot stock, but there is one hangup: profit. As should be expected, Nebius isn't profitable because it's working on rapidly expanding its computing footprint so that it can capture as much market share in the AI arms race as possible. The company doesn't have any core businesses to fund its data center expenses, so it must take on debt or issue shares to raise money to maintain its growth. This situation creates some execution risk, as the company will need to flip the profitability lever eventually to become a sustainable business.

I think there's plenty of AI computing demand available for that to happen, but it's still a risk investors need to know and understand.

2. IonQ

Currently, AI is performed using traditional computing methods on devices such as GPUs, which can process hundreds of workflows in parallel. However, there could be a new technology that does the job far more efficiently: quantum computing.

Countless companies are pursuing quantum computing, and IonQ is one of the most prominent. If viable quantum computing is achieved, it will have a great impact on how AI workloads are processed.

Quantum computing has proved to work; however, its accuracy isn't up to par with where it needs to be for commercial applications. IonQ holds the world record in two-qubit gate fidelity, a common accuracy measure that companies in the quantum computing industry use. While many companies struggle to get to 99.9% fidelity, IonQ has achieved 99.99%.

Backing a technological leader in a highly technical and important industry is a smart move, and I think IonQ is the best stock in the quantum computing realm to invest in.

The company is delivering fantastic growth, with revenue rising 755% year over year in Q1. Some of that growth came from acquisitions, but also from new partnerships and early stage system sales. If IonQ can continue developing relationships and pushing closer to viable quantum computing technology, its stock could be a rocket ship waiting to take off.

However, the quantum computing field is ripe with competition, and it's possible that IonQ loses the technology race to another, which would cause its stock to plummet. Still, I think IonQ is a solid pick in this space, and if quantum computing becomes a mainstream technology, IonQ could be one of the primary beneficiaries.

Keithen Drury has positions in IonQ, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nebius Group, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.