My Top Growth Stock to Buy for 2026 (and It's Not Even Close)

By Ryan Vanzo – Mar 15, 2026 at 1:45PM ESTKey PointsAI will be critical for fully autonomous vehicles.One EV maker is betting big on AI despite a relatively small market cap.Most investors think of Rivian (RIVN 2.84%) as an electric vehicle (EV) stock. Indeed, the company does specialize in manufacturing EVs. But recently, I argued that maybe Rivian should be viewed more as an artificial intelligence (AI) stock. If you understand why I think that's the case, you'll quickly see how Rivian became my top growth stock to buy in 2026 (and beyond). Image source: Rivian. Like Tesla, Rivian is betting big on AI I'm excited about Rivian stock for three reasons. First, the company expects to start deliveries of its first EV model priced under $50,000 next month. Tesla arguably has the launch of its first affordable model -- the Model 3 -- to thank for its first sizable growth spurt. Second, just like Tesla, Rivian is investing heavily to expand its AI capacities. Why is AI so important for EVs? Because experts increasingly agree that AI will prove key to realizing full self-driving capabilities. As I recently outlined, Rivian recently launched a new initiative strictly focused on bringing AI to its factory floor to improve manufacturing efficiency. It's also ramping investment in its own in-vehicle AI assistant while aiming to launch a new "Universal Hands-Free" feature on select models this year. Most impressively, the company hopes to one day design and manufacture its own AI chips, solving a key industry supply issue. ExpandNASDAQ: RIVNRivian AutomotiveToday's Change(-2.84%) $-0.43Current Price$14.87Key Data PointsMarket Cap$18BDay's Range$14.81 - $15.5552wk Range$10.36 - $22.69Volume1.2MAvg Vol33MGross Margin-276.59% It's unclear whether Rivian's AI ambitions will pay off. But one thing looks clear to me: The market isn't assigning much value to this opportunity. Rivian is currently valued at just $19 billion -- not what you'd expect for a company that could one day compete in the global robotaxi market or license its self-driving technology to existing partners like Volkswagen. This year, I expect the launch of the Rivian R2 to garner most of the headlines. But that launch should give Rivian tens of thousands of additional vehicles on the road to further train and test its AI models. This is still a long-term bet, but trading at just 3.4 times sales, Rivian's potential far exceeds its current market cap.Read NextMar 15, 2026 •By Catie Hogan1 Reason Why April Could Be Huge for RivianMar 15, 2026 •By Ryan Vanzo2 Autonomous Driving Stocks That Could Be Worth a Fortune by 2030Mar 14, 2026 •By Ryan VanzoIs Rivian a Buy Ahead of Its R2 Electric Vehicle Launch? Hint: Absolutely, and Here's WhyMar 14, 2026 •By Chris NeigerBetter EV Stock: Rivian vs. TeslaMar 11, 2026 •By Reuben Gregg Brewer3 Brilliant Growth Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long TermMar 9, 2026 •By Daniel MillerCan Rivian Disrupt the Market and Reward Investors in 2026?About the AuthorRyan Vanzo is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering a range of stocks and market sectors. Ryan previously worked for multiple mutual funds conducting fundamental research. He holds a degree in finance and accounting from Bentley University and has had a strong interest in financial markets since childhood.TMFRyanVanzoStocks MentionedRivian AutomotiveNASDAQ: RIVN$14.87(-2.84%)-$0.44*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.