Dan Ives Thinks AI Buildout Still In Early Stages, With NVDA, MSFT, PLTR, AAPL And CRWD As Top AI Picks

• The AI expansion is moving beyond major cloud providers into enterprise, sovereign AI programs, and specialized infrastructure, entering what Ives describes as the "third inning" of growth. 
• The rapid expansion of autonomous "agentic AI" is accelerating security risks, which is expected to double corporate cybersecurity budget allocations.
• Investment focus centers on key hardware and software leaders like Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir, Apple, and CrowdStrike, alongside emerging specialized tech firms with significant upside potential. 

The global shift toward artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, and market investors continue to underestimate the magnitude of an impending multi-trillion-dollar expenditure cycle, tech industry analyst Dan Ives told CNBC.

Initiating coverage across nearly 50 technology firms, Ives outlined an extremely optimistic outlook for the sector. Ives emphasized that despite geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic headwinds, and ongoing regulatory debates, the market is misjudging the scale of an incoming $4 trillion spending wave.

"We believe this is the 3rd inning of a 9-inning game, and the scale of what is now committed is the evidence," Ives said in an interview with CNBC, noting that secondary and tertiary market opportunities from AI adoption are only beginning to unfold across the corporate landscape.

Core Infrastructure Leaders

Ives identified chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT) as primary infrastructure beneficiaries. He assigned an "outperform" rating and a $300 price target to Nvidia—implying 25% upside—noting that chip demand is rapidly expanding beyond traditional hyperscalers into sovereign AI initiatives, enterprise networks, and specialized cloud developers.

Microsoft received a $615 price target, a 16% gain from Tuesday's closing price. Ives pointed to the firm's expanding commercial remaining performance obligations—which reached $678 billion—as proof of broadening enterprise adoption outside of foundational frontier-model developers.

Cybersecurity Demand 

Ives noted that AI systems expand security vulnerabilities faster than existing corporate IT budgets can address. Consequently, cybersecurity expenditures are projected to double, climbing from approximately 5% of overall enterprise IT spending to 10% within the next three years.

As frontier labs push deeper into security architecture, cybersecurity companies are entering a prolonged growth cycle. Within this segment, Ives highlighted Palantir Technologies (PLTR) with a $250 price target (30% upside) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) with a $335 price target (20% upside).

Emerging Growth Opportunities

Beyond mega-cap technology stalwarts and Apple, Ives spotlights smaller, specialized players positioned for significant potential gains.

Cloud hardware vendor Boost Run (BRUN) received a $24 price target, representing an estimated 58% upside following strong quarterly results that show it is converting contract backlogs into top-line scale. Additionally, sidewalk robotics firm Serve Robotics (SERV) was given an $8 target (67% upside), with Ives identifying the company as an early frontrunner in autonomous last-mile delivery services.

NVDA, MSFT, CRWD Stock: Retail View 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘neutral’ with ‘normal’ message volumes across all three stocks. 

NVDA stock has gained 26%, MSFT has risen 9%, and CRWD stock has added 124% year-to-date. 

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