{"id":841157,"date":"2026-08-03T04:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T04:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/841157\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T04:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T04:50:11","slug":"these-overlooked-asx-ai-shares-could-be-tomorrows-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/841157\/","title":{"rendered":"These overlooked ASX AI shares could be tomorrow’s winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligence<\/a> is attracting billions of dollars in investment globally, but genuine ASX AI shares remain surprisingly difficult to find.<\/p>\n

That scarcity could create opportunities for investors willing to look beyond the obvious names. A handful of smaller ASX AI companies offer exposure to the long-term AI theme, with potential catalysts that could drive significant growth if execution improves.<\/p>\n

Two names attracting increasing attention are Appen Ltd (ASX: APX<\/a>) and Macquarie Technology Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Robot<\/p>\n

Image source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Appen: A risky AI turnaround play<\/p>\n

Appen sits directly inside the AI ecosystem. The company provides training data used by many artificial intelligence models, helping businesses build and improve machine learning systems.<\/p>\n

However, the journey has been far from smooth. The ASX AI share surged 71% to an annual high of $1.90 in January after a strong quarterly update boosted investor confidence. That optimism faded quickly after the company’s next update in April.<\/p>\n

While revenue increased 9% to $54.8 million, investors were disappointed by the company’s weak profitability. Appen Global’s performance was a particular concern, with revenue falling 37% to $19.9 million.<\/p>\n

The result triggered a sharp sell-off, sending shares down around 30%. Since then, the recovery has failed to materialise, with Appen shares trading near $0.86 and down around 30% over the past year.<\/p>\n

Management has since reaffirmed FY26 revenue guidance<\/a> of between $270 million and $300 million, ahead of FY25 revenue of $231 million. The key question now is whether demand for AI training data can translate into stronger earnings.<\/p>\n

If Appen can prove its turnaround is working, secure new partnerships, and return to sustainable growth, the market could quickly reassess the company’s value.<\/p>\n

The next major test arrives with its first-half FY26 results in late August.<\/p>\n

Macquarie Technology: The infrastructure behind AI<\/p>\n

While many investors focus on AI software companies, Macquarie Technology is targeting the infrastructure powering the revolution.<\/p>\n

The company operates data centres, cloud services, cybersecurity solutions, and sovereign hosting platforms \u2014 all areas expected to benefit from rising AI adoption.<\/p>\n

In March, Macquarie Technology secured a $200 million hybrid investment<\/a> from the government-backed National Reconstruction Fund Corporation.<\/p>\n

The funding will support the expansion of sovereign cloud, cybersecurity, and AI infrastructure for government agencies, defence organisations, and critical industries.<\/p>\n

Unlike many speculative AI plays, Macquarie Technology already has a profitable business. The ASX AI share has delivered 20 consecutive half-years of operating income growth, demonstrating consistent execution.<\/p>\n

As demand for data centre capacity continues rising, additional infrastructure coming online could provide a significant earnings boost.<\/p>\n

If investors begin valuing Macquarie Technology closer to established data centre operators such as NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT<\/a>), the shares could have further upside.<\/p>\n

Foolish takeaway<\/p>\n

AI investing is still dominated by global giants, but opportunities exist across the ASX.<\/p>\n

Appen offers a higher-risk turnaround opportunity tied directly to AI model development, while Macquarie Technology provides exposure to the essential infrastructure supporting the AI boom.<\/p>\n

Neither ASX AI share is guaranteed to succeed, but both show why investors shouldn’t overlook the smaller companies helping build the next generation of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Artificial intelligence is attracting billions of dollars in investment globally, but genuine ASX AI shares remain surprisingly difficult…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":["post-841157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}