SoundHound AI(NASDAQ: SOUN) is a leading developer of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) software, and its revenue is growing at a lightning-fast pace. Its stock soared by 835% in 2024 after Nvidia revealed a small stake in the company, although the chip giant has since sold its entire position.
DigitalOcean(NYSE: DOCN) is another up-and-coming AI company. It operates a cloud computing platform designed specifically for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), which features a growing portfolio of AI services, including data center infrastructure and a new tool that allows them to build custom AI agents.
With the second half of 2025 officially underway, which stock is the better buy between SoundHound AI and DigitalOcean?
Image source: Getty Images.
SoundHound AI amassed an impressive customer list that includes automotive giants like Hyundai and Kia and quick-service restaurant chains like Chipotle and Papa John’s. All of them use SoundHound’s conversational AI software to deliver new and unique experiences for their customers.
Automotive manufacturers are integrating SoundHound’s Chat AI product into their new vehicles, where it can teach drivers how to use different features or answer questions about gas mileage and even the weather. Manufacturers can customize Chat AI’s personality to suit their brand, which differentiates the user experience from the competition.
Restaurant chains use SoundHound’s software to autonomously take customer orders in-store, over the phone, and in the drive-thru. They also use the company’s voice-activated virtual assistant tool called Employee Assist, which workers can consult whenever they need instructions for preparing a menu item or help understanding store policies.
SoundHound generated $84.7 million in revenue during 2024, which was an 85% increase from the previous year. However, management’s latest guidance suggests the company could deliver $167 million in revenue during 2025, which would represent accelerated growth of 97%. SoundHound also has an order backlog worth over $1.2 billion, which it expects to convert into revenue over the next six years, so that will support further growth.
But there are a couple of caveats. First, SoundHound continues to lose money at the bottom line. It burned through $69.1 million on a non-GAAP (adjusted) basis in 2024 and a further $22.3 million in the first quarter of 2025 (ended March 31). The company only has $246 million in cash on hand, so it can’t afford to keep losing money at this pace forever — eventually, it will have to cut costs and sacrifice some of its revenue growth to achieve profitability.
The second caveat is SoundHound’s valuation, which we’ll explore further in a moment.
The cloud computing industry is dominated by trillion-dollar tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft, but they mostly design their services for large organizations with deep pockets. SMB customers don’t really move the needle for them, but that leaves an enormous gap in the cloud market for other players like DigitalOcean.
DigitalOcean offers clear and transparent pricing, attentive customer service, and a simple dashboard, which is a great set of features for small- and mid-sized businesses with limited resources. The company is now helping those customers tap into the AI revolution in a cost-efficient way with a growing portfolio of services.
DigitalOcean operates data centers filled with graphics processing units (GPUs) from leading suppliers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, and it offers fractional capacity, which means its customers can access between one and eight chips. This is ideal for small workloads like deploying an AI customer service chatbot on a website.
Earlier this year, DigitalOcean launched a new platform called GenAI, where its clients can create and deploy custom AI agents. These agents can do almost anything, whether an SMB needs them to analyze documents, detect fraud, or even autonomously onboard new employees. The agents are built on the latest third-party large language models from leading developers like OpenAI and Meta Platforms, so SMBs know they are getting the same technology as some of their largest competitors.
DigitalOcean expects to generate $880 million in total revenue during 2025, which would represent a modest growth of 13% compared to the prior year. However, during the first quarter, the company said its AI revenue surged by an eye-popping 160%. Management doesn’t disclose exactly how much revenue is attributable to its AI services, but it says demand for GPU capacity continues to outstrip supply, which means the significant growth is likely to continue for now.
Unlike SoundHound AI, DigitalOcean is highly profitable. It generated $84.5 million in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income during 2024, which was up by a whopping 335% from the previous year. It carried that momentum into 2025, with its first-quarter net income soaring by 171% to $38.2 million.
For me, the choice between SoundHound AI and DigitalOcean mostly comes down to valuation. SoundHound AI stock is trading at a sky-high price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 41.4, making it even more expensive than Nvidia, which is one of the highest-quality companies in the world. DigitalOcean stock, on the other hand, trades at a very modest P/S ratio of just 3.5, which is actually near the cheapest level since the company went public in 2021.
We can also value DigitalOcean based on its earnings, which can’t be said for SoundHound because the company isn’t profitable. DigitalOcean stock is trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26.2, which makes it much cheaper than larger cloud providers like Amazon and Microsoft (although they also operate a host of other businesses):
SoundHound’s rich valuation might limit further upside in the near term. When we combine that with the company’s steep losses at the bottom line, its stock simply doesn’t look very attractive right now, which might be why Nvidia sold it. DigitalOcean stock looks like a bargain in comparison, and it has legitimate potential for upside from here thanks to the company’s surging AI revenue and highly profitable business.
Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider whenNetflixmade this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation,you’d have $695,481!* Or when Nvidiamade this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation,you’d have $969,935!*
Now, it’s worth notingStock Advisor’s total average return is1,053% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to179%for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you joinStock Advisor.
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Chipotle Mexican Grill, DigitalOcean, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft, and short June 2025 $55 calls on Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
A computer generated image of what the lunar vehicle could look like on the Moon
In a shopping plaza an hour outside Toronto, flanked by a day spa and a shawarma joint, sits a two-storey building with blue tinted windows reflecting the summer sun.
It is the modest headquarters of Canadensys Aerospace, where Canada is charting its first trip to the Moon.
Canadensys is developing the first-ever Canadian-built rover for exploring the Earth’s only natural satellite, in what will be the first Canadian-led planetary exploration endeavour.
Models, maps and posters of outer space line the office walls, while engineers wearing anti-static coats work on unfamiliar-looking machines.
Sending this rover to the Moon is part of the company’s “broader strategy of really moving humanity off the Earth”, Dr Christian Sallaberger, Canadensys’ president and CEO, told the BBC.
Learning about the Moon – which is seen to have the potential to become a base for further space exploration – is the “logical first step”, he said.
“People get all excited about science fiction films when they come out. You know, Star Wars or Star Trek. This is the real thing.”
Prototypes of the lunar rover, both designed and built by Canadensys
The Canadian vehicle is part of Nasa’s Artemis programme, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon.
As part of that overarching goal, this rover aims to find water and measure radiation levels on the lunar surface in preparation for future manned missions, and survive multiple lunar nights (equivalent to about 14 days on Earth).
The rover will also demonstrate Canadian technology, building on Canada’s history in space.
Canada was the third country to launch a satellite, designed the Canadarm robotic arms for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, and is known for astronauts such as Chris Hadfield and Jeremy Hansen – the latter of whom will orbit the Moon on the Artemis II mission next year.
The 35kg rover is scheduled to be launched as part of a Nasa initiative in 2029 at the earliest. It will land on the Moon’s south polar region – one of the most inhospitable places on the lunar surface.
The vehicle does not have a name yet. The Canadian Space Agency held an online competition to select one, and is expected to announce the winner in the future.
Canadensys President Christian Sallaberger said he is excited to be playing a role in humanity’s quest to explore space
Canadensys is currently working on several prototypes of the rover. The final vehicle, Mr Sallaberger said, would be assembled shortly before launch.
Each component is tested to ensure it can survive the Moon’s harsh conditions.
Temperature is one of the main obstacles. Lunar nights can plummet to -200C (-328F) and rise to a scorching daytime of 100C (212F).
“It’s one of the biggest engineering challenges we have because it’s not so much even surviving the cold temperature, but swinging between very cold and very hot,” he said.
Designing the wheels is another challenge, as the Moon’s surface is covered with a sticky layer of fragmented rock and dust called regolith.
“Earth dirt, if you look at it microscopically, has been weathered off. It’s more or less in a round shape; but on the Moon the lunar dirt soil is all jagged,” Mr Sallaberger said.
“It’s like Velcro dirt,” he said, noting it “just gums up mechanisms”.
Engineers Misha Hartmann (L) and Adam Abdulahad work on a prototype of the rover at the Canadensys headquarters
The search for water on the lunar surface is especially exciting, considering the Moon was generally thought to be bone dry following the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s, the US human spaceflight programme led by Nasa.
That perception changed in 2008, Dr Gordon Osinski, the mission’s chief scientist, told the BBC, when researchers re-analysed some Apollo mission samples and found particles of water.
Around the same time, space crafts observing the Moon detected its presence from orbit.
It has yet to be verified on the ground and many questions remain, the professor at Western University in London, Ontario, said.
“Is it like a patch of ice the size of this table? The size of a hockey rink? Most people think, like in the Arctic, it’s probably more like grains of ice mixed in with the soil,” he said.
Water on the Moon could have huge implications for more sustainable exploration. He noted one of the heaviest things they need to transport is often water, so having a potential supply there would open doors.
Water molecules can also be broken down to obtain hydrogen, which is used in rocket fuel. Mr Osinski described a future where the Moon could become a sort of petrol station for spacecrafts.
“It gets more in the realms of sci- fi,” he said.
Dr Osinski, an expert in lunar geology and has experience training astronauts in Canada’s Arctic, showed off a lunar rock during the BBC interview
Canada has wanted to build a lunar surface vehicle for decades, with talk of a Canadian-made spacecraft even in the early 2000s – but it was not until 2019 that concrete plans were announced.
Canadensys was awarded the C$4.7m ($3.4m; £2.5m) contract three years later.
Founded in 2013, Canadensys has worked on a variety of aerospace projects for organisations like Nasa and the Canadian Space Agency, as well as commercial clients.
More than 20 instruments built by the company have been used in a host of missions on the Moon.
But there are challenges ahead – as even landing on the Moon is no easy feat.
In March, a spacecraft by commercial US firm Intuitive Machines toppled over onto its side during landing, ending the mission prematurely.
Three months later, Japanese company iSpace’s Resilience lost touch with Earth during its landing, and eventually failed.
“That’s the nature of the business we’re in,” Mr Sallaberger said. “Things do go wrong, and we try to do the best we can to mitigate that.”
Intuitive Machines/The Planetary Society
A picture of the Earth taken by a Canadensys-built camera was selected as the Best Space Exploration Image of 2024 by the Planetary Society
Space exploration has been a collaborative field over the years, with countries – even rivals, such as the United States and Russia – working together on the International Space Station.
But that might be changing, Mr Osinski said. As the prospect of a permanent presence on the Moon becomes more realistic, wider geopolitical questions have begun to swirl around the ownership of the satellite.
“There’s more talk around who owns the Moon and space resources,” Mr Osinski said.
In 2021, the US passed a law to protect the Apollo Moon landing site “because they had a concern that China could just go and grab the US flag, or take a piece of an Apollo lander”, he said.
But he had some encouraging words about the Artemis missions, which are “even way more international than the space station”.
The Artemis Accords, which is a set of ideals to promote sustainable and peaceful exploration of outer space, has been signed by more than 50 countries – including ones like Uruguay, Estonia and Rwanda, which are not traditionally seen as key space race nations.
Space is also becoming more accessible. Private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have taken an increasingly important role and are able to take anyone with the money and barely any training – like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and pop star Katy Perry – into space for a few minutes.
But the Moon is the Holy Grail, as it opens up all sorts of possibilities.
Mr Sallaberger said that Canadensys is involved in longer-term projects, such as lunar greenhouses for food production.
Those still remain many years in the future, but the rover is a starting point.
“If you design something that can survive on the lunar surface long-term, you’re pretty bulletproof anywhere else in the solar system.”
A team of researchers at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool capable of detecting diseases and nutrient deficiencies in bitter gourd leaves, potentially transforming the way farmers monitor crop health.
The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal ‘Current Plant Biology’ (Elsevier), highlights how AI-driven innovations can play a crucial role in real-time crop monitoring and precision farming.
The newly developed web-based application, named ‘AgriCure’, is powered by a layered augmentation-enhanced deep learning model. It allows farmers to diagnose crop health by simply uploading or capturing a photograph of a leaf using a smartphone.
“Unlike traditional methods, which are time-consuming and often require expert intervention, AgriCure instantly analyses the image to determine whether the plant is suffering from a disease or nutrient deficiency, and then offers corrective suggestions,” explained the researchers.
The collaborative research project was led by Dr Kamaldeep Joshi, Dr Rainu Nandal and Dr Yogesh Kumar, along with students Sumit Kumar and Varun Kumar from MDU’s University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET). It also involved Prof Narendra Tuteja from the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi and Prof Ritu Gill and Prof Sarvajeet Singh Gill from MDU’s Centre for Biotechnology.
MDU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Rajbir Singh, congratulated the research team on their achievement.
According to the researchers, AgriCure can detect major diseases such as downy mildew, leaf spot, and jassid infestation, as well as key nutrient deficiencies like nitrogen, potassium and magnesium.
“This represents a step towards sustainable agriculture, where AI empowers farmers with real-time decision-making tools,” said corresponding authors Prof Ritu Gill and Prof Sarvajeet Singh Gill. They added that the web-based platform can be integrated with mobile devices for direct use in the field.
The team believes that the technology’s core framework can be extended to other crops such as cereals, legumes, and fruits, creating opportunities for wider applications across Indian agriculture.
Looking ahead, they plan to integrate AgriCure with drones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices for large-scale monitoring, and to develop lighter versions of the model for full offline use on mobile phones.
Competition to introduce AI to the diplomatic front lines of major countries The U.S. actively utilizes the State Department’s exclusive “State Chat” to brainstorm foreign policy. Canada uses it to analyze major countries’ policies
[Photo = Yonhap News]
Competition to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) is fierce not only in industrial areas but also in diplomacy, which is the front line of competition between countries. The U.S. State Department is increasing the work efficiency of diplomats through its own AI. Japan spends more than 600 billion won a year to detect false information. The move is aimed at preventing the possibility that fake information will be misused to establish national diplomatic strategies.
In the United States, the State Department has been operating its own AI ‘State Chat’ since last year. It is an interactive AI in the form of ‘Chat GPT’, similar to the method promoted by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It provides functions such as summarizing internal business documents and professional analysis. E-mails used by diplomats are also drafted according to the format and even have the function of helping “brainstorming” in relation to foreign policy or strategy.
StateChat is dramatically reducing the amount of time State Department employees spend on mechanical tasks. According to State Department estimates, the total amount of time saved by all employees through their own AI amounts to 20,000 to 30,000 hours per week.
The State Department plans to continue expanding the use of StateChat. State Chat is also used for job training. This is due to the advantage of minimizing information that may be omitted during the handover process and enabling in-depth learning by providing data containing stories. State Chat will also be used to manage manpower. Information related to personnel management is also entered in State Chat.
[Photo = Yonhap News]
Japan has been building a situation analysis system using AI since 2022. AI finally judges the situation by combining reports from local diplomats with external information such as foreign social network service (SNS) posts, reports from research institutes, and media reports. For example, if social media analysis detects residents’ disturbance in a specific area, AI warns of the risk of terrorism or riots.
From 2023, it is using AI to detect fake news that is mainly spread through SNS. It analyzes not only text but also various media types of content such as images, audio, and video. It is a method of measuring the consistency of information based on a large language model (LLM) and then determining whether it is false. In particular, Japan calculates and presents the social impact, such as the scale and influence of the fake news.
Japan believes that numerous fake news after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident has undermined national trust and caused unnecessary diplomatic friction. Japan allocated about 66.2 billion yen (626.5 billion won) in the fiscal 2025 budget to the policy and technology sectors to respond to false information.
Canada introduced a ‘briefing note’ using Generative AI in 2022. A draft policy briefing document is created by analyzing and reviewing policy-related data of major countries. Finland operates a system that collects diplomatic documents through AI and summarizes them on its own, and even visualization functions are provided. The UK has introduced AI to consular services. Classify the services frequently requested by their citizens staying abroad to overseas missions and provide optimal answers.
Last year, France developed an AI tool that summarizes and analyzes diplomatic documents and external data and is using it to detect ‘reverse information (fake news or false information)’ overseas and to identify public opinion trends. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has introduced an unmanned overseas mission model that provides consular services based on AI.
![[Photo = Yonhap News]](https://aistoriz.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/news-p.v1.20250831.e738e78a131544a38de88cd64aaced2a_P1.jpg)
