Penny stocks showed wild moves this week. Iris Energy Ltd (IREN) jumped over 70% this year by adding AI cloud services to its bitcoin mining business. SoundHound AI (SOUN) dropped 37% despite voice-recognition tech demand. Applied Digital (APLD) rose 20% with its data centers powering AI tools.

Traders monitored five AI growth stocks covering different solutions. Video analysis highlighted opportunities in AI hardware, software, and data centers. After-market prices on July 3 showed these stocks gaining before Independence Day.

Big Tech spending faces new questions. Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta invested $300 billion in AI this year - up from $246 billion in 2024. Earnings reports later this month will reveal if these massive investments actually boost productivity and profits.

Competition heated up when China's DeepSeek launched a free AI assistant. It quickly became the top app on Apple's App Store, beating OpenAI's ChatGPT. Goldman Sachs called this an "existential moment" challenging expensive AI models.

Political moves added uncertainty. President Trump announced a $500 billion U.S. AI project with OpenAI and partners last week. This aims to counter China's growing influence in artificial intelligence technology.

Traders now watch for short squeeches in low-priced AI stocks while tracking earnings for clues about AI's real-world impact. The race between expensive U.S. systems and China's budget models could reshape the entire AI market.