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Four Hidden AI Opportunities Worth Watching in 2026

MarketDash Editorial Team
3 hours ago
While mega-cap tech dominated 2025, a deeper look at the AI ecosystem reveals smaller companies with explosive growth that most investors haven't discovered yet. Here are four under-the-radar stocks combining high revenue growth with improving profitability.

If you were betting against artificial intelligence in 2025, watching the market probably felt like being trapped in a zombie movie. Every time it looked like the AI rally was finally dead, it lurched back to life and kept shambling forward, hungry for more investor capital.

With both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closing in on another 20% annual gain, you'd be forgiven for thinking every promising AI stock has already been discovered. Surely all the diamonds have been mined by now, right?

Not quite. Here's what 2025 actually taught us: AI is way more than just cloud giants and chip makers. There's an entire ecosystem of companies keeping data centers running, autonomous vehicles moving, and voice assistants talking. Many of these businesses are still flying under Wall Street's radar.

Let's examine four stocks that haven't gotten nearly enough attention in the AI boom.

Each company here has a market cap below $5 billion and has delivered at least 30% year-over-year revenue growth over the past three years while expanding profit margins. They were all strong performers in 2025, so if the AI rally continues, they might not stay hidden much longer.

Innodata Inc.: The Data Infrastructure Play

Innodata Inc. (INOD) made waves earlier this year with an almost unbelievable run of 19 gains in 20 trading sessions. Think Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, but for stocks. Like Meta's famous winning streak before it, though, the impressive rally was followed by a sharp correction. The stock still beat the S&P 500 year-to-date, but it's down over 30% in the past three months.

Here's the thing: both the fundamental story and technical indicators suggest 2026 could be strong. The company posted record revenue exceeding $62 million in Q3 2025, marking its fifth consecutive quarter of beating both top and bottom-line expectations. That $62 million represented 20% growth from Q3 2024, and management confirmed their full-year 2025 expectation of 45% year-over-year growth from 2024.

The margin story is equally compelling. Profit margins have expanded to a comfortable 26%, which should unlock significant earnings per share growth going forward. When you're growing revenue at 45% annually with 26% margins, the math starts getting really interesting.

INOD shares slumped after their winning streak, but they still retained more than a 30% year-to-date gain as 2025 wound down. Despite the recent pullback, the technical picture shows signs of improvement. The stock has found support along its 200-day simple moving average, an area where buyers have consistently stepped in throughout the year. With the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator showing signs of turning bullish and strong growth and quality scores, INOD could deliver even bigger gains in 2026.

Evolv Technologies Inc.: AI-Powered Security Screening

Evolv Technologies Inc. (EVLV) operates in a fascinating niche. This $1.2 billion company develops AI-powered security screening services for large-crowd events. Their software uses artificial intelligence to create touchless security screening that can identify weapons while distinguishing them from everyday items like phones or water bottles.

The company isn't profitable yet, but it's making progress. It recorded over $100 million in sales last year and continues inching toward profitability with each earnings beat. Evolv pulled in a record $42.85 million in revenue during Q3 2025, representing 57% year-over-year growth. Management raised their full-year 2025 revenue guidance to the upper end of $145 million.

The business model includes a significant recurring revenue component, which is exactly what you want to see. Management expects annual recurring revenue to grow more than 20% year-over-year in 2026, providing visibility and predictability that investors love.

The EVLV chart looks promising as well. The stock has found support at its 200-day simple moving average just as a bullish MACD crossover appears. The 50-day simple moving average is the next level to watch. If bullish momentum can push the price above that level, the first quarter of 2026 could be tremendously positive for Evolv investors.

Aeva Technologies Inc.: LiDAR for Autonomous Vehicles

Aeva Technologies Inc. (AEVA) is an even smaller play at just $780 million market cap. The company designs systems for one of the most crucial technologies in autonomous vehicles: LiDAR. Their primary product is a 4D LiDAR suite with both hardware and software applications.

LiDAR is the motion-sensing technology powering Waymo's autonomous vehicles, and many argue it offers superior performance compared to the traditional cameras Tesla relies on for its Robotaxis. Aeva experienced tremendous revenue growth in 2024 and 2025, with quarterly sales jumping from $800,000 in Q4 2023 to $5.5 million in Q2 2025.

Revenue did dip to $3.5 million in Q3 2025, but the company still posted its eighth consecutive earnings and revenue beat. More importantly, Aeva recently secured a deal to become the exclusive LiDAR provider to a major European original equipment manufacturer. That's the kind of contract that can transform a small company's trajectory.

AEVA shares have struggled in the second half of 2025, though this is partially due to an unsustainable parabolic rally that saw shares rocket from $3 to $37 in just four months. The stock is back under $13 per share now, trading at a more reasonable level given that the company hasn't turned profitable yet.

On the daily chart, the share price is hovering around support at the 200-day simple moving average, while a bullish MACD crossover gives investors hope for another rally in 2026.

Soundhound AI Inc.: Voice Technology Beyond Automotive

Soundhound AI Inc. (SOUN) may not be flying quite as far under the radar as it was in early 2025, but the stock is approaching a key technical level that could present an attractive entry point for new investors.

Soundhound historically provided Voice AI solutions primarily to the automotive industry, but the company has successfully branched out into other sectors over the past few years, including restaurants, healthcare, and banking. That diversification is paying off.

Revenue growth was strong in 2023 and 2024, but it absolutely soared in 2025, expanding more than 120% year-over-year. The company's losses have also continued narrowing thanks to stronger margins, and profitability in 2026 is now within realistic reach. When you're growing revenue at 120% annually, you don't need much margin improvement to flip profitable.

Despite the excitement surrounding the company, Q4 has been rough for SOUN shareholders. The stock declined rapidly after the RSI triggered an overbought signal in October and is now down more than 35% over the past three months.

However, technical signals suggest the bottom might be in. The momentum of the decline has slowed now that the RSI sits right at the oversold threshold, and the MACD is actually showing buying momentum beginning to return. Small, growth-oriented stocks like Soundhound often experience violent swings in both directions. After a 35% pullback, the stock could be positioned for a move higher.

These four companies represent different corners of the AI ecosystem, from data infrastructure to security screening to autonomous vehicles to voice technology. They're all still small enough to deliver explosive growth, but large enough to have proven their business models work. That's a rare combination worth paying attention to as 2026 unfolds.

Back to Stock Market News

Four Hidden AI Opportunities Worth Watching in 2026

MarketDash Editorial Team
3 hours ago
While mega-cap tech dominated 2025, a deeper look at the AI ecosystem reveals smaller companies with explosive growth that most investors haven't discovered yet. Here are four under-the-radar stocks combining high revenue growth with improving profitability.

If you were betting against artificial intelligence in 2025, watching the market probably felt like being trapped in a zombie movie. Every time it looked like the AI rally was finally dead, it lurched back to life and kept shambling forward, hungry for more investor capital.

With both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closing in on another 20% annual gain, you'd be forgiven for thinking every promising AI stock has already been discovered. Surely all the diamonds have been mined by now, right?

Not quite. Here's what 2025 actually taught us: AI is way more than just cloud giants and chip makers. There's an entire ecosystem of companies keeping data centers running, autonomous vehicles moving, and voice assistants talking. Many of these businesses are still flying under Wall Street's radar.

Let's examine four stocks that haven't gotten nearly enough attention in the AI boom.

Each company here has a market cap below $5 billion and has delivered at least 30% year-over-year revenue growth over the past three years while expanding profit margins. They were all strong performers in 2025, so if the AI rally continues, they might not stay hidden much longer.

Innodata Inc.: The Data Infrastructure Play

Innodata Inc. (INOD) made waves earlier this year with an almost unbelievable run of 19 gains in 20 trading sessions. Think Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, but for stocks. Like Meta's famous winning streak before it, though, the impressive rally was followed by a sharp correction. The stock still beat the S&P 500 year-to-date, but it's down over 30% in the past three months.

Here's the thing: both the fundamental story and technical indicators suggest 2026 could be strong. The company posted record revenue exceeding $62 million in Q3 2025, marking its fifth consecutive quarter of beating both top and bottom-line expectations. That $62 million represented 20% growth from Q3 2024, and management confirmed their full-year 2025 expectation of 45% year-over-year growth from 2024.

The margin story is equally compelling. Profit margins have expanded to a comfortable 26%, which should unlock significant earnings per share growth going forward. When you're growing revenue at 45% annually with 26% margins, the math starts getting really interesting.

INOD shares slumped after their winning streak, but they still retained more than a 30% year-to-date gain as 2025 wound down. Despite the recent pullback, the technical picture shows signs of improvement. The stock has found support along its 200-day simple moving average, an area where buyers have consistently stepped in throughout the year. With the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator showing signs of turning bullish and strong growth and quality scores, INOD could deliver even bigger gains in 2026.

Evolv Technologies Inc.: AI-Powered Security Screening

Evolv Technologies Inc. (EVLV) operates in a fascinating niche. This $1.2 billion company develops AI-powered security screening services for large-crowd events. Their software uses artificial intelligence to create touchless security screening that can identify weapons while distinguishing them from everyday items like phones or water bottles.

The company isn't profitable yet, but it's making progress. It recorded over $100 million in sales last year and continues inching toward profitability with each earnings beat. Evolv pulled in a record $42.85 million in revenue during Q3 2025, representing 57% year-over-year growth. Management raised their full-year 2025 revenue guidance to the upper end of $145 million.

The business model includes a significant recurring revenue component, which is exactly what you want to see. Management expects annual recurring revenue to grow more than 20% year-over-year in 2026, providing visibility and predictability that investors love.

The EVLV chart looks promising as well. The stock has found support at its 200-day simple moving average just as a bullish MACD crossover appears. The 50-day simple moving average is the next level to watch. If bullish momentum can push the price above that level, the first quarter of 2026 could be tremendously positive for Evolv investors.

Aeva Technologies Inc.: LiDAR for Autonomous Vehicles

Aeva Technologies Inc. (AEVA) is an even smaller play at just $780 million market cap. The company designs systems for one of the most crucial technologies in autonomous vehicles: LiDAR. Their primary product is a 4D LiDAR suite with both hardware and software applications.

LiDAR is the motion-sensing technology powering Waymo's autonomous vehicles, and many argue it offers superior performance compared to the traditional cameras Tesla relies on for its Robotaxis. Aeva experienced tremendous revenue growth in 2024 and 2025, with quarterly sales jumping from $800,000 in Q4 2023 to $5.5 million in Q2 2025.

Revenue did dip to $3.5 million in Q3 2025, but the company still posted its eighth consecutive earnings and revenue beat. More importantly, Aeva recently secured a deal to become the exclusive LiDAR provider to a major European original equipment manufacturer. That's the kind of contract that can transform a small company's trajectory.

AEVA shares have struggled in the second half of 2025, though this is partially due to an unsustainable parabolic rally that saw shares rocket from $3 to $37 in just four months. The stock is back under $13 per share now, trading at a more reasonable level given that the company hasn't turned profitable yet.

On the daily chart, the share price is hovering around support at the 200-day simple moving average, while a bullish MACD crossover gives investors hope for another rally in 2026.

Soundhound AI Inc.: Voice Technology Beyond Automotive

Soundhound AI Inc. (SOUN) may not be flying quite as far under the radar as it was in early 2025, but the stock is approaching a key technical level that could present an attractive entry point for new investors.

Soundhound historically provided Voice AI solutions primarily to the automotive industry, but the company has successfully branched out into other sectors over the past few years, including restaurants, healthcare, and banking. That diversification is paying off.

Revenue growth was strong in 2023 and 2024, but it absolutely soared in 2025, expanding more than 120% year-over-year. The company's losses have also continued narrowing thanks to stronger margins, and profitability in 2026 is now within realistic reach. When you're growing revenue at 120% annually, you don't need much margin improvement to flip profitable.

Despite the excitement surrounding the company, Q4 has been rough for SOUN shareholders. The stock declined rapidly after the RSI triggered an overbought signal in October and is now down more than 35% over the past three months.

However, technical signals suggest the bottom might be in. The momentum of the decline has slowed now that the RSI sits right at the oversold threshold, and the MACD is actually showing buying momentum beginning to return. Small, growth-oriented stocks like Soundhound often experience violent swings in both directions. After a 35% pullback, the stock could be positioned for a move higher.

These four companies represent different corners of the AI ecosystem, from data infrastructure to security screening to autonomous vehicles to voice technology. They're all still small enough to deliver explosive growth, but large enough to have proven their business models work. That's a rare combination worth paying attention to as 2026 unfolds.