Jasmine Birtles
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What’s the Next Hot Tech Stock to Buy in 2026?
Ruby Layram
22nd Jun 2026
The recent SpaceX IPO has reignited a question that investors have been asking for decades: “What’s the next big opportunity?”
It’s an understandable question. Every generation seems to have a handful of companies that completely reshape industries and create enormous wealth for investors along the way.
- Microsoft did it.
- Amazon did it.
- Google did it.
- Nvidia has arguably done it more recently.
And now many investors are wondering whether SpaceX could be the next name to join that list. But perhaps the more interesting question is this:
Which companies today share the same characteristics that made SpaceX such an exciting investment opportunity in the first place?
Of course, nobody knows whether any company will become the next trillion-dollar success story. Investing simply doesn’t work that way.
However, there are a few businesses and sectors that appear to possess some of the qualities investors often look for when searching for the next great growth stock.
What Made SpaceX So Attractive?
Before looking at potential future opportunities, it’s worth understanding why investors became so excited about SpaceX.
It wasn’t simply because the company builds rockets.
Investors were attracted by several key ingredients:
- A huge addressable market
- Industry-changing technology
- Strong leadership
- Long-term growth potential
- A product that competitors struggle to replicate
- A vision that extends decades into the future
Most importantly, SpaceX wasn’t trying to improve an existing industry by 10%. It was attempting to fundamentally transform it.
Historically, those are often the types of businesses that generate extraordinary long-term returns.
With that in mind, here are three areas that many investors are watching closely.
1. Quantum Computing: The Industry That Could Change Everything
If artificial intelligence has been the dominant investment story of the past few years, quantum computing could potentially become one of the biggest stories of the next decade.
Quantum computers use entirely different principles to traditional computing systems.
In theory, they could solve problems that would take today’s most powerful supercomputers thousands of years to complete.
Potential applications include:
- Drug discovery
- Financial modelling
- Artificial intelligence
- Logistics optimisation
- Materials science
- Cybersecurity
The opportunity is enormous.
The challenge? The technology is still developing.
Many quantum computing companies remain highly speculative and are years away from widespread commercial adoption.
That said, investors are already positioning themselves through companies such as:
- IonQ
- Rigetti Computing
- D-Wave Quantum
- Quantum Computing Inc.
These businesses remain high-risk investments, but they operate in an industry with potentially transformative long-term potential.
In some ways, investing in quantum computing today feels similar to investing in early internet infrastructure companies decades ago.
The opportunity could be enormous.
But so could the risks.
2. Anthropic: The IPO Everyone Is Watching
If you’ve used AI recently, you’ve probably encountered ChatGPT.
But behind the scenes, another company has been quietly becoming one of the most important players in artificial intelligence.
That company is Anthropic.
Founded by former OpenAI researchers, Anthropic created Claude, one of the leading AI assistants currently available.
The company has attracted significant investment and has become a serious competitor within the rapidly growing AI market.
Reports suggest an IPO could arrive towards the end of 2026, making it one of the most anticipated public listings on the horizon.
Why are investors excited? Because Anthropic possesses many of the qualities that growth investors love:
- Exposure to a massive market
- Rapid adoption
- Significant revenue growth
- Proprietary technology
- Strong strategic partnerships
Like SpaceX, Anthropic operates in a market that could become dramatically larger over the next decade.
The company is effectively competing for a slice of what many analysts believe could become one of the largest technological shifts in history.
Of course, competition is fierce.
The AI race is far from settled. But if the company successfully executes its strategy, it’s easy to see why investors are paying attention.
3. OpenAI: The IPO That Could Define a Generation
Then there’s OpenAI.
If SpaceX has become the defining private space company of its era, OpenAI may become the defining artificial intelligence company.
The launch of ChatGPT changed how millions of people interact with technology.
Almost overnight, AI moved from a niche topic to a mainstream tool used by businesses, students and consumers around the world.
OpenAI remains private for now. However, many investors expect some form of public market opportunity to emerge in the coming years.
Whenever that happens, demand could be enormous.
Why? Because OpenAI arguably possesses all of the ingredients investors look for:
- Global brand recognition
- Explosive growth
- Industry leadership
- Powerful technology
- Significant competitive advantages
If SpaceX represented a bet on the future of space, OpenAI may represent a bet on the future of intelligence itself.
That’s an incredibly compelling investment narrative.
The question, as always, is valuation. Great businesses can still be poor investments if investors overpay.
The Problem With Looking for “The Next SpaceX”
Here’s where I think many investors make a mistake.
They’re often searching for certainty. They want someone to point to a stock and say: “This is definitely the next Nvidia.”
Or:
“This company will definitely be worth ten times more in ten years.”
Unfortunately, investing doesn’t work like that. Nobody knew exactly how successful Amazon would become. Nobody knew how dominant Google would become. And nobody knows whether quantum computing, Anthropic or OpenAI will ultimately fulfil their potential.
What investors can do is identify businesses that share similar characteristics:
- Large addressable markets
- Strong competitive advantages
- Innovative technology
- Exceptional leadership
- Long growth runways
That’s about as close as anyone gets to spotting the next big opportunity.
The Bigger Lesson
Personally, I think the biggest lesson from the SpaceX IPO isn’t about finding the next SpaceX.
It’s about understanding why investors were excited about SpaceX in the first place.
- The market rewards businesses that solve important problems.
- It rewards innovation.
- It rewards companies that create products people genuinely need.
- And it rewards investors who are willing to think long term.
Could quantum computing stocks become huge winners? Possibly.
Could Anthropic become one of the defining AI businesses of the next decade? Absolutely.
Could OpenAI eventually justify the excitement surrounding it? Perhaps.
The truth is that nobody knows. But they all share something important with SpaceX:
They’re trying to build the future, not simply profit from the present.
For long-term investors, that’s often where the most interesting opportunities are found.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for the next hot tech stock in 2026, you may be asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking: “Which stock will double next?”
Try asking: “Which companies are building technologies that could shape the next decade?”
Right now, quantum computing, Anthropic and OpenAI all belong in that conversation.
Whether they ultimately become the next SpaceX is impossible to predict.
But they certainly share some of the same ingredients that made investors so excited about SpaceX in the first place.
MoneyMagpie is not a financial adviser. This article contains opinion and commentary and should not be considered financial advice. Investments can fall as well as rise in value, and you may get back less than you invest.
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