3 AI Software Stocks Set to Thrive in 2025

The artificial intelligence software market is starting to flex its muscles and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

As usual, the data tells the story.

According to ABI research, the worldwide AI software market hit the $98 billion mark in 2024 and will reach $391.43 billion by 2028. That results in a 30% compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2030.

"A major growth driver will be generative AI adoption across enterprises and use cases. Moreover, maturing enterprise AI strategies lead to scaled deployments of other "traditional" AI frameworks (including computer vision, predictive AI, and Natural Language Processing," ABI states in its report.

That's good news for AI software shareholders, especially in these three stocks.

The ABI report notes North America is driving AI software sector growth, with US "frontier innovators"  leading the way. All told, 43% of AI software finance and investment will flow from North American companies.

That suggests some of the best AI software picks are US-based right now, and that's correct to a point.

"When you look at the total weighted dollar amount of those budgets and the momentum we see behind AI, we see this tsunami of AI investment capital heading toward us—a projected $2 trillion to be invested in AI infrastructure over the next three years," says Neal Shah, a former hedge fund manager and CEO of CareYaya Health Technologies in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

"This is driven by enterprise demand to use AI comprehensively, banked on the promise that it can fundamentally transform their business models."

Which AI software stocks best leverage that momentum? Here are three companies that have cracked the code and are making tremendous strides in a burgeoning tech sector.

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Palantir (PLTR). This Denver, Col.-based software company is heating up fast, with Wall Street analysts backing the stock in a big way. Take Wedbush, which recently cited Palantir (along with Salesforce) as the real deal in the AI realm.

“There are some transformational tech stocks that come along every decade and change the landscape,” noted Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “Palantir is one of them in our view and proved it for all the tech world to see.”

The company operates in commercial and government spaces, building and deploying software platforms that serve as the central operating systems for its customers. PLTR significantly outperformed last week's earnings report estimates (earnings were up 27%), and company CEO Alex Karp has been exceedingly bullish about company prospects on earnings calls.

Check this out and bathe in the hubris. "Welcome to our Palantir revolution, otherwise known as our earnings call," Karp said on a call with analysts on February 4. "There really is a lot of debate with these numbers about whether you should even have an earnings call."

The stock is up 55.90% in 2025, making PLTR far and away the S&P 500's highest-performing stock (the S&P is up 2.75% year-to-date, in comparison).

Analysts expect a choppy ride for PLTR over the long haul, which makes sense given the historically higher volatility rate technology stocks have experienced. However, that gives investors more opportunities to buy an outstanding AI stock on the dip. Just ask any Nvidia investor over the past five years.

Salesforce (CRM). Salesforce hasn't seen Palantir's powerhouse share growth in 2025, losing 1.34% in share asset value year to date.

Yet, there's no shortage of enthusiasm among market seers over CRM. Aside from Palantir, Wedbush adds Salesforce as a software company leading the AI revolution in 2025. In late December, Wedbush tagged CRM with an outperform call and a one-year price target of $425 (the stock is currently trading at $325.)

Mizuho and Truist have followed suit, pegging price targets of $425 and $400 in the past few weeks.

Salesforce analysts point to the company's Agentforce 2.0, which deploys next-generation AI agent technology to complete complicated or onerous workplace tasks. That digital labor development could change the game for human workers and the companies that employ them.

CRM is ideally situated to take full advantage of the demand for automated AI agent taskmasters as companies line up, checks in hand, to leverage advanced AI workplace software that promises to boost production and cut costs.

"Like Palantir, Salesforce is in a strong position with its CRM products well-suited to AI," Shah says. "Palantir and Salesforce are at the vanguard of enterprise AI adoption, which fits with a broader trend of U.S. firms trying to integrate AI into their businesses."

C3.ai (AI). At a $4.25 billion market cap, C3.ai isn't on the same level as software heavyweights like Salesforce, but it's a competitive force to be reckoned with just the same.

The Redwood City, Cal.-based  enterprise artificial intelligence software has already established itself as a rising power in the defense industry; the one sector Team Trump says will gain significant funding in the next four years. It recently garnered an "awardable" branding from the US Department of Defense, which should place C3.ai on the inside track for defense contracts in the AI and machine learning markets.

The company already hosts multiple Defense Department contracts and has landed massive private sector brands like McKinsey and Microsoft via digital business transformation deals. C3.ai has also attracted big-name investors like Blackrock, which recently upped its stake in C3 to 9.98 million shares. Sales rose 29% in the company's last quarterly earnings reading as C3 easily bested analyst earnings estimates.

The stock traded at $45 in late December but fell to $33 per share in mid-February. 

Given all that C3.ai has going for it, the stock should be a solid dip-buying opportunity for long-term-minded investors.

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