Investors are always looking for great investment opportunities that have the potential to multiply their wealth. While you can expect to earn steady returns by investing in well-established traditional businesses, Canadian growth stocks, especially the ones with their focus on emerging technologies, can double or even triple your invested capital in the long term.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one such emerging technology that has gained big popularity in recent months, especially after OpenAI’s launched its generative AI tool called ChatGPT in November 2022. Even though large language model-based generative AI only represents a fraction of the technology, AI has the potential to disrupt the way we work and live our day-to-day lives. Considering that, investing in Canadian AI stocks right now could potentially prove to be one of the best investment decisions you ever make.
In this article, I’ll highlight one of the best AI stocks you can buy in Canada today.
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A top Canadian AI stock to buy now
When picking a growth stock to invest in for the long term, you should carefully analyze its business model and fundamental growth factors. If a growth stock doesn’t have well-diversified revenue sources, adding it to your portfolio could increase your risk profile.
Keeping that in mind, BlackBerry (TSX:BB) could be a great Canadian AI stock to consider buying right now. This Waterloo-based tech firm currently has a market cap of $3.6 billion, as its stock trades at $6.21 per share with solid 39% year-to-date gains.
BlackBerry’s increasing focus on AI and machine learning
BlackBerry makes most of its revenue by selling enterprise cybersecurity software solutions to businesses across the world, and its client base includes some of the biggest global businesses. In its fiscal year 2023 (ended in February), the Canadian tech firm generated nearly 64% of its total revenue from the cybersecurity segment. However, what I find even more interesting about its business is its fast-growing IoT (Internet of Things) segment revenues. To give you an idea, in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2023, the contribution of the IoT segment in its total revenue rose to 35% compared to 28% a year ago.
More importantly, BlackBerry has increased its focus on developing advanced AI and machine learning-based technological solutions for the automotive industry in recent years. While its QNX operating system is already popular among large global automakers, its recently developed BlackBerry IVY in-vehicle software platform is likely to take this legacy one step further.
The IVY platform uses advanced AI and machine learning to allow carmakers to optimize data processing and provide better functionalities to their customers. These could be some of the key reasons why several global automakers have already given the IVY platform positive feedback while showing a willingness to use it in their vehicles.
In addition, BlackBerry’s cybersecurity solutions, like Cylance, also use AI technology to achieve a higher level of security for its clients. Given these positive factors and growing AI applications across industries, I believe that BB stock has the potential to deliver some eye-popping returns to its shareholders in the long run, making it an attractive Canadian AI stock to buy now.
