Nvidia has been one of the best-performing stocks in recent years. The company has a market cap of over $3 trillion. It is still a great option for many, but its historic run has forced many investors to look elsewhere for artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

For its first few years as a public company, Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) struggled mightily to capture meaningful market share in the enterprise software space. The company's sluggish growth and heavy reliance on lumpy federal contracts fueled a perception that Palantir was really more of a government consulting operation and less so a legitimate player in the software arena.

With some of the biggest AI players going all-in on this technology, it might make existing AI powerhouses, like Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR), a bit nervous. Palantir emerged as one of the best pure-play AI investments in 2024.