Got $3,000? 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy and Hold for the Long Term.

Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are arguably the best growth opportunity available right now. Analysts have projected that the AI market will be worth trillions of dollars in the next five to 10 years. If you have $3,000, that's more than enough to invest in a few of the companies set to capitalize on the AI boom.

For the best results, you may want to split your money among companies that each focus on different parts of the AI market. Here are three options to consider.

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1. Broadcom

Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world. It creates AI chips that tech companies use in their data centers, similar (but not entirely identical) to GPU maker Nvidia.

Semiconductor stocks are an excellent AI investment opportunity. They provide the hardware necessary to run the most advanced AI models, and the semiconductor industry is growing to meet rising demand. The global semiconductor market grew by 19.7% in 2024, and is projected to grow another 11.2% in 2025.

Broadcom stands out from the competition because it makes customizable chips called AI accelerators. Some of the major hyperscalers, including Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Meta Platforms, use Broadcom to make their own custom AI chips. It's rumored that OpenAI is another company partnering with Broadcom for this reason. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan says that it has three hyperscaler customers expected to deploy 1 million AI accelerators in 2027.

Broadcom is on the pricey side, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 38. That's common for AI companies, and based on Broadcom's momentum and earnings projections, this could still be a good time to invest.

It beat expectations in its second fiscal quarter of 2025, with revenue rising 20% year over year to $15 billion. AI revenue was particularly impressive, growing 46% year over year to $4.4 billion. Tan expects that to grow even more in the third quarter to $5.1 billion.

2. Alphabet

Tech conglomerate Alphabet is integrating AI throughout its products and services. Perhaps the most well-known example is the AI overviews that now sit at the top of Google search results. Alphabet has also added AI tools to Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, etc.), launched its Gemini chatbot, and uses AI for its self-driving car project, Waymo.

Alphabet is both innovative and relatively safe, with a strong balance sheet, and shares are cheap right now. It has the lowest forward P/E ratio of the "Magnificent Seven," a nickname for seven of the largest tech companies.

GOOGL PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

To be fair, there are reasons why Alphabet is so affordable. It lost an antitrust lawsuit last year, with a judge ruling that it monopolized the open-web digital advertising market. A penalty hasn't been decided yet.

Alphabet is also trimming its workforce, as reports came out earlier this month that it was offering buyouts to employees in its search, advertising, research, and engineering units. And there are fears that the growth of AI will negatively impact Alphabet's Google Search business.

Even with those headwinds, Alphabet should continue to perform well as a long-term investment. Search may be its calling card, but it has built and acquired several successful businesses over the years, including Android, YouTube, and Google Cloud. And it has shown the ability to adjust and evolve its business, with the addition of AI to search results being one good example.

3. ASML

As mentioned earlier, semiconductors are an essential part of AI (as well as most modern electronics). ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) is crucial to the semiconductor industry, as it manufactures extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used to mass-produce high-performance microchips.

It sells these machines to companies that manufacture semiconductors, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, and Samsung. And these are massive, expensive pieces of equipment. High NA machines, its most advanced chipmaking technology, cost over $400 million and weigh more than six tons.

ASML's revenue can be up and down due to the nature of its business. It doesn't sell many machines -- it sold 77 lithography machines in the first quarter of 2025 (73 new and four used), but that was enough for 7.7 billion euros in revenue with a gross margin of 54%. Trade restrictions to China are also a risk factor.

But ASML has a wide moat, with an over 90% share of the lithography market. If the AI and semiconductor markets continue their rapid growth, ASML should benefit from that and could outperform the market.

Should you invest $1,000 in Broadcom right now?

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Lyle Daly has positions in ASML, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.