AI describes the intelligence of either machines or software – in contrast to the natural intelligence of humans and animals.

While some AI technologies, such as recommendation systems for Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), or speech assistants, such as Siri or Alexa, have been around for a while, AI has gotten a lot more attention when ChatGPT was released around a year ago.

Suddenly, there was an AI that could do many things instead of being developed for a narrow use case, and everyone could use it, experiment with it, and be awed (or amused) by it.

An AI boom began that saw many different companies create their own Large Language Models (LLMs) and compete with ChatGPT, while companies also started to invest heavily in AI hardware, such as specialized chips that can be used to train AI models, to sort data, and so on.

Not surprisingly, analysts and scientists forecast explosive market growth for AI at this point. The graph below is pretty self-explanatory and shows you in graphic form why AI is a MegaTrend sector.

The above chart illustrates that while the worldwide AI market was $142 billion in 2022, it’s forecasted to grow by an order of magnitude by 2030 with a market forecast of $1.85 trillion.

While many consumers remain fearful or skeptical of what AI could do (e.g., result in job cuts), I’m way more optimistic and focus on the many positives that AI could cause: better, more efficient medicine, more effectiveness at work that results in fewer hours of work time being needed, scientific progress, improved economic growth, and so on.

AI will have a huge impact in many areas of our lives, which includes ways that we don’t know about yet, but investors can already profit from the ongoing AI boom today.

How To Benefit from the Growth of AI

ChatGPT is the best-known new AI development, and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) owns a stake in it. Microsoft naturally will benefit from the ongoing AI boom, especially since it also develops its own AI offerings while integrating ChatGPT into its existing products.

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been deeply involved in AI and was actually the company that had the first shot at launching its AI engine before ChatGPT, but the launch fell on its face. It’s back, however, and making up ground swiftly.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the premier AI chip developer and has experienced outstanding business growth in recent quarters thanks to demand for AI chips exploding, as many different companies are investing more and more in high-powered hardware.

Other hardware manufacturers and software developers will benefit from the rise of AI as well, but investors also can opt to invest in companies that will reap the benefits of increased AI power indirectly. This includes healthcare companies that will be able to develop new drugs faster and in a less expensive way; robotics companies that will utilize AI to power their products; and autonomous vehicle companies that can leverage AI to introduce self-driving vehicles.

In short, there are many different ways to benefit from the massive potential of AI and its many impacts on work, commerce, science, and so on that this disruptive technology will have in the coming years and decades.