A lot can happen in 11 years. Think back to 2013. That was the year that Frozen debuted in theaters, Barack Obama began his second term as president, and Twitter debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.
So, looking ahead to 2035, which artificial intelligence (AI) stocks will be the three largest in the world? Here are my predictions.
1. Microsoft
Although it is often the world's second-largest company, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) should grow even larger over the next 11 years thanks to its numerous AI initiatives.
To start with, its cloud services segment, Microsoft Azure, should benefit immensely from the AI revolution. Azure, already the world's second-largest cloud services business, is well positioned to capture additional revenue as organizations ramp up their cloud and AI spending. The unit's machine learning tools and prebuilt AI models should attract even more revenue for its Intelligent Cloud segment, which already generates more than $100 billion in revenue annually.
What's more, the next decade should see Microsoft integrate even more AI-powered features into its iconic software suite. Copilot AI integrations have already kicked off, and as AI tools continue to improve, the company should be able to extract even more revenue from its software suite and the AI add-ons that are incorporated into it.
In summary, Microsoft's diverse business segments should reap many benefits from the AI revolution over the next 11 years. That, in turn, will keep it firmly within the list of top 3 AI stocks by market cap.
2. Amazon
Like Microsoft, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) operates one of the world's premier cloud services businesses, Amazon Web Services (AWS). And just like its foremost rival, AWS already generates more than $100 billion in annual revenue.
Yet, that figure will surely rise over the next 11 years due to the AI revolution. AWS offers a broad range of AI-powered services. Developers and organizations can use these tools to build, train, and deploy AI models.
Beyond AWS, Amazon will use AI to power its other core business: e-commerce. The company already utilizes AI to power its massive logistics network. AI helps the company predict purchasing patterns, proactively stock its fulfillment centers, and determine the fastest and cheapest routes for shipping. On top of that, Amazon already uses close to 1 million robots within its facilities. That figure should skyrocket in the coming years, particularly as its robots become more effective and as labor costs continue to rise.
With a current market cap of $1.9 trillion, Amazon has some work to do to catch Apple, which currently has a market cap of $3.4 trillion. Yet, as noted above, 11 years is a long time, and I believe that Amazon can leapfrog the iPhone maker by 2035.
3. Nvidia
Finally, there's Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). It should come as no surprise that the king of graphic processing units (GPUs) makes the cut.
First of all, Nvidia's dominance of the GPU marketplace will be the main reason the company maintains its spot as one of the most valuable companies in the world. Its chips are sought after by developers for their speed and ease of use -- and that's unlikely to change anytime soon. In addition, AI developers are comfortable working with the company's CUDA parallel computing platform. That creates a barrier to entry for Nvidia's competitors, as developers may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with their offerings.
However, Nvidia will excel over the long term for other reasons, too. Assuming autonomous driving capabilities improve and demand for them takes off, Nvidia could benefit. Furthermore, innovative gaming developments could bolster demand for its GPUs in the video game space, as could renewed interest in virtual reality simulations or the metaverse.
All in all, Nvidia remains a solid choice to be the top AI company for a reason -- its hardware is the go-to choice for developers working on the cutting edge of innovation. No one knows how the next 11 years will unfold, but it's easy to see that Nvidia is as well positioned for them as any company today.
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jake Lerch has positions in Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Prediction: These Will Be the 3 Largest Artificial Intelligence (AI) Companies by 2035 was originally published by The Motley Fool