3 Long-Shot AI Stocks That Could Make You a Millionaire

By Keithen Drury – Feb 18, 2026 at 4:11PM ESTKey PointsSoundHound AI shares are down significantly from their highs.Nebius is growing at an unreal pace.IonQ has massive upside if it wins the quantum computing race. These 10 Stocks Could Mint the Next Wave of Millionaires ›NASDAQ: SOUNSoundHound AIMarket Cap$3.1BToday's Changeangle-down(3.00%) $0.22Current Price$7.54Price as of February 18, 2026 at 4:00 PM ETThese three stocks are high-risk, high-potential-reward investments.Filling your portfolio with long-shot stocks isn't a great idea. Such investments have high risks of failure and may not pan out. However, if you want to devote a small fraction of your portfolio (say 5% to 10% of its value) to stocks with huge upside and spread your bets out among them, then I think this can be a fun investment strategy. It's not for everyone. If you start having heart palpitations any time you see a stock you own fall by 50% or more, then I wouldn't encourage you to invest like this. But if you're looking for the next big thing and can handle the stress, I think these three stocks offer massive upside and could deliver millionaire-maker returns. Image source: Getty Images. SoundHound AI SoundHound AI (SOUN +3.00%) is combining audio recognition technology with generative AI. The application for this technology is massive, as it could potentially replace human employees in many types of business interactions. While SoundHound AI's primary success has been in the restaurant space, where it automates order-taking at drive-thrus, it's also starting to see some success in the customer service realm. Customer service reps represent a huge cost for many companies, and if a human-like AI bot can replace that, then SoundHound AI could experience massive growth. ExpandNASDAQ: SOUNSoundHound AIToday's Change(3.00%) $0.22Current Price$7.54Key Data PointsMarket Cap$3.1BDay's Range$7.21 - $7.6752wk Range$6.52 - $22.17Volume18MAvg Vol25MGross Margin30.02% During the third quarter of 2025, SoundHound AI delivered 68% revenue growth. Yet its stock is down around 70% from its all-time high, and now trades at a fairly attractive 20 times sales. That's a solid price for the stock, so this looks like a prime buying opportunity. Nebius Nebius (NBIS +4.33%) is positioned to produce incredible growth during 2026. It builds data centers, fills them with computing equipment built around Nvidia's processors, and then rents them. Its full-stack solution offers the ability for clients to get up and running with training and running AI models quickly, and it has become a wildly popular platform. ExpandNASDAQ: NBISNebius GroupToday's Change(4.33%) $4.22Current Price$101.74Key Data PointsMarket Cap$25BDay's Range$96.90 - $104.3952wk Range$18.31 - $141.10Volume568KAvg Vol14MGross Margin-765.63% Nebius ended 2025 with $1.25 billion in annual recurring revenue. That figure is expected to spike to between $7 billion and $9 billion by the end of 2026. That's monster growth, and if Nebius can deliver on its projections, I have no doubt that the stock will soar throughout 2026. If it can continue building out its computing footprint after 2026, it could be headed for even greater heights. IonQ IonQ (IONQ +0.48%) is a player in the technology that's expected to be the next big thing: quantum computing. Although quantum computing is a few years away at the earliest from being commercially viable, investing in these stocks now gives investors exposure to the most upside possible. IonQ is currently the worldwide leader in quantum computing accuracy -- the biggest hurdle this technology faces en route to wide commercial adoption. ExpandNYSE: IONQIonQToday's Change(0.48%) $0.16Current Price$33.34Key Data PointsMarket Cap$12BDay's Range$32.39 - $34.8852wk Range$17.88 - $84.64Volume13MAvg Vol20MGross Margin-747.41% This makes IonQ the riskiest of the three, as it's still competing with numerous big-name and well-funded rivals (as well as a raft of other pure plays) to develop a broadly marketable product, but it also has the most upside if it works out. Only time will tell if IonQ emerges as one of the victors in this race, but I think it has incredible upside right now if it continues to push the limits of what's possible with quantum computing. All three of these stocks will help accelerate your timeline to becoming a millionaire if they work out, but I doubt each one will make you a millionaire by itself (unless you invest a substantial sum of money). Yet if your portfolio can beat the market by just a few percentage points each year, that would dramatically accelerate your timeline toward becoming a millionaire, and I think buying these three long-shot AI stocks gives you opportunities to do just that. Read NextFeb 17, 2026 •By Anders Bylund1 AI Stock That Could Turn $100 Per Month Into $27,675Feb 15, 2026 •By Jack DelaneyShould You Buy SoundHound AI Stock While It's Under $8?Feb 14, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerIs SoundHound AI Stock Your Ticket to Becoming a Millionaire?Feb 11, 2026 •By Keithen DruryDown 65% From Its All-Time High, Is SoundHound AI a Buy Now?Feb 11, 2026 •By Anders BylundIs SoundHound AI Stock a Buy Now?Feb 3, 2026 •By Geoffrey SeilerThis Overlooked Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Could Be the Surprise Winner of 2026About the AuthorKeithen Drury is a contributing Motley Fool technology analyst covering AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and SaaS stocks. In addition to The Motley Fool, Keithen is a mechanical engineer and has held roles at Honeywell and smaller industrial companies like Brand Hydraulics and Lincoln Industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dordt University.TMFTripleOptionStocks MentionedSoundHound AINASDAQ: SOUN$7.54 (+3.00%) $+0.22Nebius GroupNASDAQ: NBIS$101.74 (+4.33%) $+4.22IonQNYSE: IONQ$33.34 (+0.48%) $+0.16*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.