The market evolves quickly, and nowhere is that more apparent than in AI stocks, which continue to lead in both innovation and returns. At the I/O Fund, our deep coverage of AI stocks, combined with active management of crypto positions, gives us a unique vantage point. As we move into the second half of the year, we want to highlight key insights every investor should understand about where AI stocks and crypto could go next.

Data center power demand is forecast to surge over the next decade, with some estimates seeing demand increasing 3x by 2030. Inference is expected to be a primary driver with power demand growth projected at a 122% CAGR through 2028 as providers work to serve billions of requests and process hundreds of trillions of tokens. Combined with a 5x increase in GPU power consumption over the next two to three years with Nvidia’s Rubin Ultra, power is quickly becoming a major bottleneck for the industry. As a result of this expected demand growth, nuclear is re-emerging as a preferred clean energy source for AI data centers. Below, we discuss nuclear energy’s potential to address AI data center demand, its advantages and drawbacks, plus Big Tech’s increased interest in nuclear with a record-setting deal, and more.

Last week, AMD offered more details on the release of their groundbreaking GPUs with little fanfare in the markets – which is par for the course as AMD has a history of being forgotten about until the company can no longer be ignored. At Advancing AI 2025, AMD introduced its Instinct MI350 series GPUs, including MI355X with up to 4X performance over the previous MI300X generation and up to 40% more tokens per dollar compared to Nvidia’s B200 accelerators.

Up until now, the AI conversation has been dominated by training and compute, yet inference is showing signs of exploding growth. Microsoft and Google recently highlighted 5x to 9x YoY growth in AI tokens processed, while OpenAI and Anthropic are adding billions in ARR in a matter of months to $10 billion and $3 billion, respectively. While Nvidia takes center stage for many investors as AI training powered its immense data center growth over the past two years, this AI semiconductor stock is solidifying itself as the clear second place, with AI revenue expected to rise at 60% YoY this year and hints of a possible acceleration next year. Below, we break down what you need to know as the industry shifts to inference at scale, if this stock’s valuation is justified or lofty, plus the one thing the CEO said that all AI investors must hear to help position for 2025-2026.

Late in 2024, Oracle outlined an ambitious plan to nearly double its revenue by fiscal 2029, hinging on long-term growth in enterprise AI and cloud spending. Oracle sets itself apart from its hyperscale peers with its ability to provide low-cost, ultrafast AI compute, winning a key role in the massive Stargate AI infrastructure project over the next four years. Despite surging RPO and billions of potential revenue from Stargate, Oracle's AI story has not inspired confidence. Cloud revenue is already on track to miss its FY25 target provided just one quarter ago, and analysts are wary of management's growth acceleration targets.

Supercomputers and advanced AI data centers are driving the AI revolution, enabling breakthroughs in deep learning and large-scale model training. As AI workloads become increasingly complex, next-generation infrastructure must offer both massive computational power and energy efficiency. NVIDIA’s GB200 is engineered to meet these demands, providing scalable, high-performance solutions for AI superclusters, accelerating AI training, inference, and large-scale data processing.

NVIDIA’s latest Blackwell Ultra GPU, unveiled at NVIDIA GTC 2025, is transforming AI acceleration and high-performance computing (HPC). Designed for the “Age of Reasoning,” these cutting-edge GPUs deliver unprecedented computational power for AI training and inference through advanced parallel processing. As AI workloads grow, accelerated computing is becoming essential — rising from 30% to 80% adoption among the world’s Top 500 supercomputers. The Green 500 energy-efficient supercomputers further highlight this shift, as demand for powerful, efficient AI hardware surges.

Alibaba’s AI-driven cloud revenue is surging with six consecutive quarters of triple-digit growth. However, its AI earnings remain a fraction of what U.S. tech giants report, with Microsoft leading at 13X higher AI revenue. The competitive pricing war in China’s AI sector may be limiting its growth potential. Explore Alibaba’s AI advancements, market challenges, and future prospects in our latest analysis.

Despite their leadership, AI stocks like Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia are flat year-to-date and trading at similar levels as June 2024. Clearly, the AI trade is not as straightforward as it might seem. Taiwan Semiconductor, in particular, sits at the center of geopolitical tensions — yet those tensions tend to surround companies with deep IP in the AI economy. What makes this economy so distinct is not just the extraordinary commercial demand, but also its rare, historical role in shaping global alliances (and adversaries). Investors are confronted almost daily with friction between the U.S. and China — and at the center of it all is one stock: Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC). While enthusiasm around AI demand remains strong, assuming it will simply override geopolitical headwinds is overly optimistic. Onshoring a supply chain like TSMC’s takes years, yet markets can react to a negative headline in seconds.

Nvidia’s streak of blockbuster earnings has turned investor expectations into a high-stakes game— anything short of perfection risks disappointment. As the company gears up to report fiscal Q1 results, markets remain fixated on the fallout from China’s H20 export ban, which could shave $15 billion off annual revenue and includes a $5.5 billion inventory write-down. Q1 strength will likely reflect a surge in stockpiled orders from China, but Q2 poses the choppiest outlook in years as demand for Hopper GPUs slows and Blackwell ramps more gradually than expected. Despite these headwinds, Nvidia’s fiscal H2 may shine, with Blackwell NVL72 rack shipments set to surge. With over seven years of coverage and a 53% gain on our latest Nvidia trade, I/O Fund offers critical insights and buy targets as Wall Street heads into Nvidia Week.

Nvidia has traversed choppy waters so far in 2025 as concerns have mounted about how the company plans to sustain its historic levels of demand. At GTC, Huang threw cold water on many of the Street’s assumptions, explaining why Nvidia’s GPUs will continue to dominate the AI accelerator market moving forward. I appeared on Fox News live during the keynote to discuss why valuation is the great equalizer for this stock – along with my prediction for which quarter this year Nvidia will likely explode higher.

Key Nvidia suppliers are providing mixed guidance on the timing of Nvidia’s Blackwell GB200 systems. The commentary is subtle, and it would require knowing this stock thoroughly to identify the change in tone. To put it simply, if Blackwell GB200s were ramping, we would see strong sequential growth for Q1. At the very least, there would be some indication Q2 is setting up for strong growth, and yet the commentary is shifting toward a second half discussion.

Broadcom’s stock surged 35% in two days despite a mediocre Q4, as management offered investors a picturesque addressable market forecast for 2027. Q4 was not the blowout report the market made it out to be, as Broadcom fell just short of revenue estimates while guiding Q1 barely above consensus. Despite this, the market did solidify that momentum continues to build for AI stocks entering 2025.

Semiconductor stocks will come into focus in 2025 as geopolitical tensions rise. China is likely to retaliate following Trump’s most recent threats of 10% additional tariffs to all Chinese goods. This escalation in tariffs and retaliation is expected to have an impact on semiconductor sales in China, particularly affecting chipmakers with higher exposure to China.

Chipmakers Qualcomm, Intel and AMD are working to bring AI-capable PCs to the “mainstream”, delivering powerful neural processing units to PCs for on-computer AI operations. AI PCs are not only a consumer market, rather will also be driven forward by enterprises and developers seeking to upgrade their employee PCs.

Direct liquid cooling doesn’t lie as it’s intricately linked to the Blackwell launch, implying that Blackwell would indeed ship by Q4 – and Nvidia just confirmed that (multiple times) in Q2’s release.

AI data centers are at the heart of the AI revolution, but their massive energy demands raise critical questions. With power consumption expected to grow 160% by 2030, data centers are turning to a mix of brown, clean, and renewable energy sources to balance sustainability and reliability. Goldman Sachs estimates 40% of new data center capacity will come from renewables, but can solar, wind, and nuclear meet AI’s 24/7 power needs? Discover how hyperscalers are adapting their energy strategies in the race to power AI.

Natural gas is emerging as the backbone of AI data center expansion, with demand expected to reach up to 6 billion cubic feet per day by 2030. As AI-driven infrastructure surges, data centers are turning to the U.S. electrical grid, primarily powered by natural gas, to meet their energy needs. With Texas and Louisiana leading in dense gas pipeline networks, major AI data center projects are strategically positioning themselves near these energy hubs. Discover why natural gas pipelines are the unsung heroes fueling the AI revolution.

Solar is arguably one of the market’s most sold-off industries at the moment, with the Invesco Solar ETF falling more than 42% YTD as the industry struggles to find growth in a high-rate environment. With implied Fed funds futures suggesting interest rates will remain above 5% through Q2 2024 before slowly dropping to the 3.75% range by year-end 2025, the industry is still facing a high-rate environment with more possible adverse demand effects for multiple quarters ahead.

After the strong rally, it appears the market is taking profits on commentary around the outlook for margins. It’s not only that they were lower quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), but also Tesla provided zero insight as to how much lower margins can go. The market does not like uncertainty. It’s somewhat ironic that during the call Musk can wax poetic about the complexities of AI, neural net training, the 6-million dollar man, and robotic taxis yet when it comes to basic profitability drivers, he can’t say anything. The former drove the price post Q123 and the latter is driving the price today.

This analysis looks at First Solar, Enphase and Tesla as beneficiaries of the Inflation Reduction Act. IRA’s primary objective is to spur investments in clean energy, transport and manufacturing.

Solar energy stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 Index YTD with the most noticeable divergence June-August. The S&P 500 index is down 17% YTD and Nasdaq-100 index is down 26%, yet solar stocks are leading the tech industry as Enphase Energy is up 72%, Maxeon Solar Technologies is up 62%, and First Solar is up 56% YTD.

Watch I/O Fund analyst Bradley Cipriano give a brief overview of Enphase's Q3 2021 results and what to expect going forward in this short video presentation.

Watch I/O Fund analyst Bradley Cipriano give a brief overview of Tesla's strong Q3 2021 results in this short video presentation.

Robinhood’s fundamental transformation over the past two years has been nothing short of remarkable. Crypto is driving strong revenue growth at 50% YoY in Q1, while TTM operating margin is approaching 40% after being at (72%) at the start of 2023. Robinhood was an initial trailblazer in zero-commission trading, yet the company arguably made one of its most significant moves at the end of June with the launch of Stock Tokens. The tokenization of assets marks an entry into a market that will reach multi-trillions over the next decade. With that said, Robinhood remains heavily reliant on crypto as one of its three main revenue drivers. While crypto was instrumental in Robinhood’s first $1 billion quarter in Q4, this elevated reliance presents a headwind for Q2 as spot volumes declined significantly in June.

Since calling the Bitcoin bottom near $16,000 in late 2022, the I/O Fund has maintained a disciplined, contrarian approach — issuing 13 buy alerts before Bitcoin surged above $100,000. Now, signs suggest the current bull cycle may be nearing its final stage. Despite pro-crypto news headlines and ETF momentum, our technical and on-chain indicators point to rising risk and the possibility of a major top. In this article, we explore why it may be time to reduce exposure and how disciplined risk management can protect gains before the next volatile phase begins.

Ethereum has long been the frontrunner in decentralized apps (dApps) and blockchain innovation, but its scalability challenges have left the door open for competitors like Solana. Launched in March 2020, Solana has surged over +28,000% since its debut, compared to Ethereum’s +1,500%, offering a faster, more efficient alternative through its unique Proof of History (PoH) protocol. This protocol enables Solana to process up to 65,000 transactions per second without sidechains, making it a superior layer 1 solution in terms of speed and security. With Ethereum’s shift from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) addressing some scalability issues but raising concerns about centralization, Solana continues to push ahead, supported by innovations like the upcoming Firedancer upgrade, which promises to boost transaction speeds to over 1,000,000 per second. While the broader adoption of blockchain remains in its early stages, Solana’s advancements position it as a compelling contender for long-term layer 1 dominance.

In December 2022, we boldly stated that “Bitcoin is a buy” when it was trading around $17,000. We were positioning for a new bull cycle and projected a target between $75,000 - $132,000. Despite Bitcoin being down nearly 80% from the 2021 highs and the FTX scandal, by March 2024, Bitcoin hit $73,757, close to our lower target. We rely on technical and on-chain analysis for Bitcoin, which helped us call the 2022 low and predict upper targets. We now adjust our targets to $82,000 - $106,000 for risk management and plan to reduce our crypto exposure by ~50% on the next push to all-time highs.

Bitcoin is the best performing asset in market history. There is no stock or asset that has come close to delivering the returns of this digital currency --- it has greatly outperformed all FAANGs, and all outliers in the history of the markets. Yet, Bitcoin is also unusual in that its volatility is equally as historic, capable of regular +70% drawdowns that inevitably push to new highs within an average of 2.5 years.

Bitcoin and the spot BTC ETFs have clearly seen strong investor appetite since the approval in the beginning of the year. Alongside strong initial adoption of the new ETF class, we’re also seeing major crypto exchanges and platforms benefit, with Coinbase and Robinhood both seeing crypto trading volumes and transaction revenues surge. This may cause investors to believe that Coinbase and Robinhood are clear beneficiaries, yet we foresee trouble for HOOD specifically.

Bitcoin is an asset where the bulls pound the table to “buy, buy, buy,” and the bears relentlessly and stubbornly call it a scam. In reality, both are the wrong approach. This is because although Bitcoin is the highest performing asset in the past ten years, it’s also the one of the most volatile. Consider that it was trading at $58,000 in March of 2022, and by December of 2022 had lost 72% of its value. That year, the loud and proud Bitcoin bulls were not your friends. Timing is everything.

The SEC approved nearly a dozen spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10 in what was heralded as a “watershed” moment for the crypto industry, opening the door for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly holding it. It’s widely expected that this approval and subsequent widespread access for institutions and retail investors will shape up to be one of the most bullish fundamental moments in Bitcoin’s history.

We are seeing mounting evidence that this bounce may be the start of a new push to all-time highs, such as improved breadth, better than expected earnings plus the size of this bounce. However, one can’t ignore the unprecedented levels of uncertainty shown in key indexes, coupled with a growing problem in the U.S. bond market. In this report, we’ll lay out the unbiased case for each scenario for our 2025 stock market outlook.

As the S&P 500 reaches a key bounce target, troubling signs in bonds and consumer behavior suggest this market rally may be on thin ice. I/O Fund’s Knox Ridley explains why volatility may intensify and how the correlation between stocks and bonds is breaking in a way we haven’t seen in decades.

Rising tariffs are injecting significant uncertainty into the stock market, triggering daily volatility and forcing analysts to revise earnings estimates. Our Q1 preview dives into the potential impact on key sectors like consumer electronics (especially Apple), autos, and Big Tech, revealing how supply chain disruptions and potential price hikes could reshape the market landscape.

In early 2025, as markets rallied to new highs, we warned that divergence across key sectors signaled a looming correction. Now, with all major indexes in a technical bear market and bond market dysfunction escalating, we explore why the Fed may not be able to prevent deeper losses — and how investors should position for what’s next.

Retail investors face significant disadvantages in the stock market, often underperforming institutional investors by a wide margin. Studies show that high-frequency trading firms dominate market activity, creating extreme volatility that disproportionately impacts individual traders. As the I/O Fund prepares to release its 2024 returns—proving our firm has outperformed both indexes and top Wall Street funds—we examine the critical need for verified returns and risk management strategies to help retail investors succeed.

The digital world is overloaded with noise—millions of posts, comments, and messages flood the internet every minute. For investors, this creates a challenge: filtering out distractions to focus on high-quality stock analysis. I/O Fund delivers institutional-grade research on tech stocks, AI, and crypto, offering both free and premium insights with real-time trade transparency. From Nvidia’s AI call at $3.15 to identifying top AI and semiconductor stocks, our analysis provides a competitive edge. Stay ahead of the market—sign up for our free newsletter today.

In a world flooded with information, investors face an overwhelming amount of noise. Quality stock analysis is the key to cutting through the clutter. At I/O Fund, we provide in-depth, free investment research—focused on the high-risk, high-reward tech sector, including AI, crypto, fintech, and semiconductors. Our expert insights help investors navigate market volatility with confidence. Stay ahead with our best analysis, designed for those who seek real value in a fast-moving market.

In our mid-October 2024 broad market report, we highlighted that a breakout above 5825 on the S&P 500 could push the index into the 6000–6185 range—contingent on holding support at 5675, which it did. Since then, the market peaked at 6147 and remains near its October levels. However, key sectors and stocks have failed to participate in the rally, and bond market reactions to the Fed’s aggressive rate-cut plans remain concerning. Legendary investors like Stanley Druckenmiller and Peter Lynch emphasize analyzing markets over economic forecasts to anticipate major market moves. Our intermarket analysis, which helped us identify the end of the 2022 bear market, now signals a potential market top. Additionally, semiconductor stocks—historically a leading indicator of volatility—remain well below their highs, suggesting broader market weakness ahead.

Amazon is on the verge of joining the $2 Trillion Club, driven by a 4-percentage point accelerating in AWS to 17% YoY growth combined with strong 25% growth in advertising revenue.

Ad spending growth is widely forecast to accelerate in 2024, after a challenging macro environment significantly dented budgets and growth in 2023. The US advertising market is already showing positive signs of growth, starting off 2024 with a 4.3% YoY increase in January

The Magnificent 7 of 2023 have now become 2024’s Magnificent 3: Nvidia, Meta and Amazon. Of these, Nvidia’s saw a stellar start to the year as shares have gained nearly 60% YTD due to the GPU leader’s beat-and-raise quarters.

Social media stocks Meta (META), Pinterest (PINS), and Snapchat (SNAP) enjoyed strong gains in 2023 as the broader ad market stabilized and fundamentals improved. Social media ad spend is expected to remain robust in 2024, with one of the fastest projected growth rates in the ad industry at +13.8% to reach $227.2 billion, less than 1% shy of search ad spend.

Ad-tech stocks have generally enjoyed strong returns in 2023, buoyed by a rather fierce tech rally. Ad spending growth showing initial signs of stabilizing in the back half of the year, with ad spend growing YoY in each month from July to October.

The mega-cap stocks that are known as FAAMG reported earnings recently. These names are driving the market higher, especially Microsoft and Apple. In fact, the percentage of Microsoft and Apple’s combined weighting in the S&P 500 has never been higher.

Earlier this month, Google’s stock (Alphabet) tumbled 7% when chatbot Bard was unable to complete a search with 100% accuracy. During a demonstration, Bard returned incorrect information about which telescope was the first to take pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar system. This was a minor mistake given how far large language models and generative AI has come, rather it was the timing that was a bit flawed as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the chatbot powering competitor Microsoft Bing, had been dominating headlines since its November 30th launch.

Ad-tech stocks across the board had a tough year last year. Investors are hoping that 2023 will be a better year, yet according to the projected ad spend for 2023, this may not be the case.