If I Had $10,000 to Put Into AI Stocks Right Now, Here's Exactly How I'd Invest It

In evaluating artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, I sometimes think about what I would do if I were new to this field and had $10,000 to invest. Even though I remain a growth investor who is bullish on AI, I would not place the entire amount into one stock.

Instead, I would divide the amount among three stocks: about 40% in a larger, established AI company; about 40% in a company that is established but growing rapidly; and the remainder in a speculative AI stock that shows promise. Specifically, I would choose these three stocks, and here's why.

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Alphabet

For the large, established play, I would buy 12 shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) for about $4,000.

Alphabet is attractive because it is one of the first AI companies. It initially applied the technology in 2001, and the advancements have continued over the last 25 years.

Many insiders wondered whether Alphabet missed a step when GPT-4 appeared to catch the market by surprise. However, management responded with Gemini, and many analysts consider it one of the top AI engines.

Looking ahead, Google Cloud adoption has grown rapidly, and Alphabet's autonomous-driving company Waymo could be a game changer as that technology becomes more prevalent.

Thanks in part to AI, its $403 billion in revenue in 2025 grew by 15% annually, and it earned $132 billion in net income, 32% more than last year.

With that growth rate, the stock seems reasonably priced at a 31 price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), and with AI becoming even more crucial to the company, its leadership in the field appears on track to keep taking its stock higher.

AMD

At current prices, investors can buy 16 shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) for around $4,100. Right now, an investment in AMD offers the best of both worlds: a position in a top AI chip stock, with growth more closely resembling earlier-stage companies.

The company has emerged as a viable alternative in the AI accelerator market to the industry leader, Nvidia, though it is a more diversified business. Its gaming, client (PC), and embedded segments make up over half its sales. And if its MI450 chip lives up to expectations, the data center segment could meet its goal of 60% in annual revenue growth over the next three to five years.

For now, it generated $35 billion in revenue in 2025, a 34% increase and close to the 35% annual growth management projected over the coming years. Also, thanks to slower increases in costs, AMD's $4.3 billion in net income for 2025 was well above the $1.6 billion in the previous year.

At a P/E of 97, AMD is not cheap. Still, rapid profit growth has taken the forward P/E to 38, allowing investors to capitalize on the opportunity in this stock at a reasonable price.

CoreWeave

For the remaining $1,900, I would open a speculative position in CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV), a leader in neoclouds, which are cloud environments specifically designed to handle AI workloads.

CoreWeave has built lucrative partnerships with companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms. However, as of the end of 2025, it had run up nearly $21.4 billion in debt, a huge burden for a company worth around $3.3 billion in book value. Management has taken this risk because a backlog that was $66.8 billion as of the end of 2025 requires it to finance a rapid expansion.

In 2025, that demand helped it generate $5.1 billion in revenue. While that was 168% higher than in 2024, it ran up a net loss of $1.22 billion in its efforts to more closely meet demand. Thus, although it holds about $3.1 billion in liquidity, such losses increase the risk it will have to take on more debt or issue shares over time to stay in business.

Still, analysts forecast 142% revenue growth in 2026, indicating that the huge demand for its infrastructure will keep it growing rapidly. Moreover, investors can buy the stock at a price-to-sales ratio (P/S) of 10. While that valuation likely factors in the stock's risks, it also means CoreWeave could become a huge winner if its growth strategy proves successful.

Will Healy has positions in Advanced Micro Devices and CoreWeave. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.