My Top Growth Stock to Buy for 2026 (and It's Not Even Close)

Most investors think of Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) as an electric vehicle (EV) stock. Indeed, the company does specialize in manufacturing EVs. But recently, I argued that maybe Rivian should be viewed more as an artificial intelligence (AI) stock. If you understand why I think that's the case, you'll quickly see how Rivian became my top growth stock to buy in 2026 (and beyond).

Image source: Rivian.

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Like Tesla, Rivian is betting big on AI

I'm excited about Rivian stock for three reasons.

First, the company expects to start deliveries of its first EV model priced under $50,000 next month. Tesla arguably has the launch of its first affordable model -- the Model 3 -- to thank for its first sizable growth spurt.

Second, just like Tesla, Rivian is investing heavily to expand its AI capacities. Why is AI so important for EVs? Because experts increasingly agree that AI will prove key to realizing full self-driving capabilities.

As I recently outlined, Rivian recently launched a new initiative strictly focused on bringing AI to its factory floor to improve manufacturing efficiency. It's also ramping investment in its own in-vehicle AI assistant while aiming to launch a new "Universal Hands-Free" feature on select models this year. Most impressively, the company hopes to one day design and manufacture its own AI chips, solving a key industry supply issue.

It's unclear whether Rivian's AI ambitions will pay off. But one thing looks clear to me: The market isn't assigning much value to this opportunity. Rivian is currently valued at just $19 billion -- not what you'd expect for a company that could one day compete in the global robotaxi market or license its self-driving technology to existing partners like Volkswagen.

This year, I expect the launch of the Rivian R2 to garner most of the headlines. But that launch should give Rivian tens of thousands of additional vehicles on the road to further train and test its AI models. This is still a long-term bet, but trading at just 3.4 times sales, Rivian's potential far exceeds its current market cap.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.