Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate the market discourse, with sector heavyweights Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) continuing to hog up the spotlight. Earlier Wednesday morning, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it will team up with some of the top-flight names in technology to launch the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot program. Naturally, this development has strong implications for AI stocks as the innovation becomes more mainstream.
According to a Yahoo Finance report, the NAIRR pilot is “designed to create a national resource for researchers and educators to access high-powered AI technologies with the goal of ensuring the US continues to lead in AI research and innovation.” Companies involved in the two-year program reads like a who’s who of tech juggernauts. These include Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and IBM (NYSE:IBM), among others.
Also, various federal agencies will participate in the effort. These include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Agriculture.
Notably, President Biden’s AI executive order — to facilitate safe, secure and trustworthy digital intelligence — gave rise to the NAIRR. It will serve as a framework for collaboration between government and private enterprises to advance AI-based utility. Naturally, the announcement provides a credibility lift for AI stocks as the underlying capabilities increase.
AI Stocks Continue to Rise Above Skepticism
NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan summarized the main directive and motivation for the AI-focused initiative. “By investing in AI research through the NAIRR pilot, the United States unleashes discovery and impact and bolsters its global competitiveness.” Further, Panchanathan emphasized the need to “create opportunities across the country to advance AI innovation and strengthen educational opportunities.”
To that end, the NAIRR program will “function as a shared national infrastructure that will provide communities across the country with the hardware, models, and resources needed to advance the AI ecosystem,” per Yahoo Finance. For AI stocks, the immediate impact involves companies not providing financial support but rather in-kind contributions to those made by government agencies to support rural communities.
Specifically, this directive involves shared infrastructure to holistically lift utility and productivity enhancements across communities. Prior successful synergies by Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and Nvidia demonstrate the potential viability of the NAIRR effort. Therefore, the expanded spotlight could benefit AI stocks.
Conspicuously, the sector’s acceleration continues to rise above skepticism. For example, NVDA has already gained 30% since the beginning of the year. Also, PLTR stock swung up 143% in the past 52 weeks, bolstered by encouraging developments as it powers through multiple challenges.
Still, an op-ed by Barron’s points out that a similar bullish wave lifted 3D printing stocks in the 2010s decade before collapsing.
Why It Matters
Speaking of skepticism, Fintel’s options flow screener — which exclusively targets big block transactions likely made by institutions — shows a heavy volume of sold calls in PLTR stock. Typically, these represent bearish bets that the target security will not rise above a defined strike price.
However, at the moment, market makers have a gamma exposure of $7.26 million. That’s the amount they must spend to be delta-neutral for every 1% move in PLTR. In short, if Palantir stock moves sharply in either direction, investors should be prepared for extreme wildness in the price action.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
