Corporate investment into artificial intelligence totaled over $250 billion last year as companies raced to develop intelligence-fueled products and services. That spend kept pace this year and is only expected to increase further as Big Tech firms like Meta , Alphabet and Microsoft vie for the AI dominance and pour more cash into the technology. While these U.S. mega-caps dominate the conversation, there are countless other companies tend to fly under the radar and yet they play important roles in the AI supply chain. From chipmakers to companies enhancing the longevity of those chips, here are the stocks grabbing investor and analyst interest: ISC The South Korean company’s development of AI chip testing sockets earned it the attention of Kunal Desai, portfolio manager of the Emerging Markets Active Engagement Fund at GIB Asset Management. Testing sockets are used to test chips for speed, performance and safety before they are shipped to customers. This is “critical for thermal and speed validation,” according to Desai. ISC was acquired by Korean multinational SKC in 2023. SKC’s share price is down 1% over the past year. Aspeed Taiwanese firm Aspeed, which specializes in server management but also develops its own chips, is well positioned as remote monitoring of data centers becomes “increasingly in demand as AI servers scale,” according to Desai. Remote monitoring allows data centers to be more cost and operationally efficient. Its stock price has risen 37% over the last 12 months. Alchip Alchip , also headquartered in Taiwan, designs and manufacturers semiconductors — specializing in making custom chips for customers. Custom chips are increasingly important to AI companies given the improved performance and control that comes with task-specific infrastructure. Amazon started working on AWS chips back in 2023, while OpenAI is also designing its own. It’s an attractive play thanks to “high-value engagements with deep IP and customer lock-in,” said Desai. Alchip shares are up 52% over the past year. Komico Semiconductor precision cleaning firm Komico, based in South Korea, is also catching Desai’s eye. Precision cleaning services, which can restore the performance of ageing chips and other equipment, are “essential for yield management in advanced nodes,” he said. “These are sticky, high-margin businesses operating at vital links in the AI chain; yet remain priced at a 50%+ discount to U.S. peers,” the GIB AM portfolio manager said, referring to each of his picks. Komico’s share prices has soared 130% over the past year. Sandisk Bank of America raised the price of Sandisk on Wednesday, a developer, manufacturer and provider of data storage products and services, raising its price objective from $125 to $230. Sandisk’s products are built on NAND flash technology, which retains data even when it’s turned off and is used in everything from phones to data centers. The firm’s data center revenue doubled to 12% of its total in the first half of 2025, according to a Bank of America note. Its share price has skyrocketed over the past year, gaining 501%. “We rate SNDK Buy. We expect long-term growth in demand for data storage using NAND, mainly driven by generative AI & eSSD share gains / demand in the data center,” analysts said in the note, referring to embedded solid-state drives, which are more reliable data storage technologies. Applied Materials Applied Materials is well positioned to benefit from increased appetite for DRAM, a type of computer memory chip, according to Morgan Stanley. While it has underperformed compared with competitors, analysts at the investment bank expect Applied Materials to “dispel these concerns and shift the narrative over the next six months, with the OctQ earnings as the first catalyst.” Morgan Stanley expects Applied Materials to issue stronger guidance in January, setting it in good stead for 2026. The investment bank forecasted growth of mid-single digits, so 4-6%, versus Wall Street’s 2%, in the first quarter of 2026. This growth would put Applied Materials ahead of its competitors, such as KLA and Lam Research, per the investment back. “We believe AMAT has an opportunity over the next six months to meaningfully shift the narrative around the stock and give investors confidence that it will outperform WFE in 2026,” the note said, referring to wafer fab equipment, the technology that makes semiconductions. Applied Materials’ stock price is up 28% over the past 12 months.
