Ark Invest is an asset management firm focused on disruptive innovation. The firm rose to prominence when its flagship investment product, the Ark Innovation ETF, skyrocketed 149% in 2020. After crashing back to earth during the bear market, the fund regained some momentum in the first half of 2023, climbing 41% through the first six months of the year.

Ark remains confident that gene editing, robotics, and other disruptive technologies will revolutionize the world in the long run, creating wealth for investors in the process. But the firm is particularly bullish on artificial intelligence (AI). Ark estimates that AI software revenue will increase at 42% annually to reach $14 trillion by 2030.

Here are two AI growth stocks to buy now.

CrowdStrike: Cybersecurity software

CrowdStrike (CRWD -0.90%) is the gold standard in several categories of cybersecurity software, including endpoint security, cloud security, and threat intelligence. Swift innovation and superior threat detection underpin that success. CrowdStrike was one of the first companies to apply artificial intelligence (AI) to cybersecurity, and doing so extended its capabilities beyond those of traditional signature-based security solutions.

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NASDAQ: CRWD

CrowdStrike

Today’s Change

(-0.90%) -$1.35

Current Price

$149.40

YTD1W1M3M6M1Y5Y

PRICEVS S&P

 CRWD S&P

KEY DATA POINTS

Market Cap

$35B

Day’s Range

$148.93 – $152.24

52wk Range

$92.25 – $205.73

Volume

2,659,854

Avg Vol

3,855,872

Gross Margin

73.58%

Dividend Yield

N/A

Specifically, while other vendors rely on reactive indicators of compromise like virus signatures to identify attacks, a strategy that only works on known threats, CrowdStrike invented a new technique. Its platform leans on AI to assess proactive indicators of attack like behavioral patterns, a strategy that works against known and unknown threats. More broadly, CrowdStrike designed its platform to crowdsource data unlike any other product on the market, and management says that makes its AI engine uniquely effective in preventing attacks.

Analysts at consultancy Frost & Sullivan concur. They had this to say in a recent report: “CrowdStrike leads the industry with regards to the application of artificial intelligence/machine learning to endpoint security, as well as providing unparalleled prevention of malware and malware-free attacks.”

CrowdStrike reported solid financial results in the first quarter despite operating in a tough economic environment. Its net retention rate once again topped 120%, meaning the average customer spent at least 20% more than they did the previous year. In turn, the company’s annual revenue run rate rose 42% to $2.7 billion, and quarterly cash from operations climbed 40% to $301 million.

CrowdStrike has plenty of room to grow, and its leadership in multiple software verticals positions the company to do just that. Cybersecurity will only become more important in the future as workloads continue to multiply across an ever-growing number of connected devices. Indeed, management says its addressable market will reach $98 billion by 2025, up from $76 billion in 2023.

Shares currently trade at 14.5 times sales, a discount to the three-year average of 33.8 times sales, so patient investors should feel comfortable buying a small position in this growth stock today.

UiPath: Enterprise automation software

UiPath (PATH -4.67%) started as a robotic process automation (RPA) company, but it has evolved into an AI-powered business automation platform. Its software helps clients discover automation opportunities by analyzing business processes and communications, and it helps clients build applications to automate a wide variety of tasks.

The UiPath platform leans on RPA to automate simple tasks like moving files, completing forms, and logging into applications; and it leans on AI to automate complex tasks like extracting document data and acting on the information (e.g., processing invoices). Despite competition from vendors like Microsoft and ServiceNow, UiPath has distinguished itself as the market leader in RPA software and intelligent document processing software.

UiPath’s growth has decelerated as businesses have pulled back on IT investments in response to difficult economic conditions, but the company still delivered a decent financial performance in its fiscal 2024 first quarter. Its net retention rate was 122%, despite headwinds like high inflation and rising interest rates. In turn, UiPath’s annual revenue run rate climbed 28% to $1.2 billion, and the company generated $67 million in cash from operations in the first quarter, up from a loss of $53 million in the same period last year.

Looking ahead, UiPath should be able to accelerate its growth trajectory as economic conditions improve and IT investments rebound. Businesses are always looking for new ways to increase productivity and efficiency, and that timeless truth should drive demand for enterprise automation software in the future. UiPath can ride that tailwind given its leadership in RPA and intelligent document processing.

With that in mind, management estimates its current market opportunity at $61 billion, but soon-to-launch products will push that figure to $93 billion. Suffice it to say UiPath has plenty of room to grow, and with shares trading at 8.6 times sales — also a discount to the two-year average of 15.4 times sales — now is a good time to buy a small position in this AI growth stock.