The Smartest Growth Stocks to Buy With $500 Right Now

Among all the great stocks out there to invest in, there are two tech companies today that I think stand above the rest: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Both companies are leaders in their respective technology markets, and both are great places to put $500 toward right now. Here's why.

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Taiwan Semiconductor is the processor-making king

Taiwan Semiconductor, also called TSMC, has seen its share price skyrocket by 262% over the past three years, in part because it is the undisputed leader in processor manufacturing. The company makes about 70% of the world's processors, and an estimated 90% of advanced chips (think AI processors).

That lead won't be overcome anytime soon, which is why Morningstar recently said TSMC is in a position to stay ahead of its competitors for decades.

TSMC, and its shareholders, are already reaping the rewards of this dominant position. Revenue rose more than 30% to $122.4 billion in 2025, and the company's diluted earnings per share popped nearly 47% to $10.65 per American depositary receipt. More growth is on the way, too, as TSMC's management said on the most recent earnings call that revenue will increase by an estimated 30% this year.

Topping off Taiwan Semiconductor's appeal is that its shares are still relatively cheap, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 31, compared to the tech sector's average P/E of nearly 42.

Alphabet's AI prowess is coming into view

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical at first that Alphabet would emerge as a leading AI player after OpenAI and Anthropic burst out of the gate at full speed. But Alphabet, with its Google Gemini chatbot, has proved me wrong.

The company recently said that Gemini now has 650 million monthly active users, up from 450 million just six months ago. That's staggering growth in a short amount of time.

Gemini still lags ChatGPT's 900 million weekly active users, but I think Alphabet is about to gain an advantage over its rival through its new collaboration with Apple. Siri has been a disappointment for years, and with the AI age, Siri is, well, showing its age even more. Apple aims to change that with a new version of Siri, expected later this year, built on Gemini's AI models.

Apple has 2.5 billion active devices worldwide, and if even half of them begin using a Gemini-infused Siri, that will help Alphabet gain even more ground on its AI rival. What's more, the Financial Times reports that the collaboration will provide Alphabet with billions of dollars over several years, with the deal structured as a cloud computing agreement.

Alphabet's cloud revenue was already up 34% in the third quarter, to more than $15 billion. With the Apple collaboration and Gemini being a huge hit, Alphabet appears poised to stay at the forefront of the AI pack. Oh, and Alphabet's shares have a P/E ratio of just 30 right now, far below the tech sector average as well. What more could you want?

Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.