Leonardo Penuela Bernal/Getty ImagesWhat if I told you that the biggest winner in this AI arms race isn't OpenAI, Meta, Google or even DeepSeek?This company is quietly winning, and nobody's talking about it. Also:From zero to millions? How regular people are cashing in on AIAnd when I say winning, I don't mean hype."One day, a magical company will change the world and revolutionize AI blah blah blah"Nah!!!This ain't hypothetical.They're getting paid. Today. Money in the bank. Not "potentially" winning. They are already winning.But they're chilling in the cut like peroxide.And I know what you're thinking. It ain't Nvidia, either. When I say zero hype, I MEAN ZERO. It's giving diamond in the rough vibes.Also:5 ways AI can help with your taxes - and 10 major mistakes to avoidThe wildest part is they have been around for 20+ years and only now started making real money.In this article, we're gonna break it all down:Who this unlikely AI winner isHow this happenedHow you can take advantageBuckle up. This is gonna be a good one. Like a Martin Scorsese movie, I PROMISE YOU you won't see this plot twist coming.Quick introTo understand how I discovered this juggernaut hiding in plain sight, first, you need to know who I am and what I do for a living.My name is Lester, but feel free to call me Les. I'm a founder with a successful exit under my belt. These days, I'm the exec chair for a group of ecom brands, but at my core, I'm an award-winning performance marketer.Also:AI isn't the next big thing - here's what isNeedless to say, data and insights are my jam. We operate more like a data company than an ecom brand. Our secret sauce? Pairing data and insights with ideas that generate revenue.If you're into data-driven business, marketing insights, and strategies, check out my free newsletter, No Fluff Just Facts. I break down what's working in business with no fluff, just marketing insights and trends that matter.But enough about me. Understanding the AI landscapeBefore I jump into the who, I need to bring you up to speed.I know I need to come out with it, but this context is critical for you to spot the next trend on your own.As you know, there is so much hype and speculation about AI that DeepSeek made an announcement and the market crashed by trillions of dollars. Yes, trillion with a T. There is no denying that AI is here and will play a role in our future, but how do you identify the real from the fake?Also:3 lucrative side hustles you can start right now with OpenAI's Sora video generatorHere's how I think about it.Who got rich during the gold rush? The guy selling the shovel.Who got rich during the dot-com bubble? The telecom companies.See the pattern? When investing, whether financially or allocating resources, I prefer to bet on the industry rather than a single company. This is especially true in the early stages when success depends on many factors aligning.So, with that mindset, I started thinking: If we're betting on AI as an industry, who wins? Where's the opportunity?To grasp why this sleeper company is winning, you must first understand how AI is shaping up behind the scenes.Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use)Right now, AI is in a hyper-growth phase. It's more like the early days of the dot-com boom: money flying everywhere, but very few companies are actually making money.At the core of AI, there are three key players:The Model Builders --OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic. These are the companies building massive AI models. They need a considerable amount of data and computing power, meaning they are currently spending way more than they're making.The Infrastructure Providers Nvidia, AWS, Microsoft Azure. These companies sell the computing power, cloud storage, and GPUs that AI models desperately need. They're making money, but they're not the whole story.The Data Owners This is where things get interesting. AI models need training data to get smarter. The problem? Most of the internet's data is free and unstructured.Using the gold rush as our blueprint, we see the real opportunities fall into two categories: Infrastructure and Data Owners.I immediately ruled out Nvidia. Why? Too obvious. Besides, I'm not looking for a stock pick; I'm looking for opportunities from which I can benefit.With that in mind, what I discovered was mind-blowing.This company: Doesn't have to build AI models even though they probably could. Doesn't have to sell GPUs. All they have to do is license the data they already have.So, who is this winner no one is talking about?Reddit. The big winnerYup. That Reddit. I told you this was a Martin Scorsese plot twist.If you're unfamiliar with Reddit, it is a social media platform and discussion site where users share content, discuss topics, and vote on posts. It's often called "The Front Page of the Internet."Founded in 2005 by Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, it was initially meant to be a food-ordering app called My Mobile Menu.Good call pivoting to social media, lol. Also: 5 ways AI can help with your taxes - and 10 major mistakes to avoidHere is why they are winning AI models need human-generated content for training. Reddit just so happens to have one of the largest human conversation datasets in the world.What makes this so valuable is the quality of the conversations. The internet is full of junk, but Reddit's discussions are real, unfiltered, and human. Unlike algorithm-driven platforms, this is raw, natural interaction, which is precisely what AI needs to understand human behavior.Reddit is the shovel of this AI revolution. In May 2024, Reddit signed a deal with OpenAI to sell access to its data, which led to its first profitable quarter ever in Q3 2024, with 68% revenue growth to $348.4 million and a net income of $29.9 million.In the last six months, Reddit's stock is up 236% at the time of writing.Also: Reddit's latest AI update makes finding the answers you want much easierThe revenue growth comes from ads and data licensing, with AI companies paying top dollar for Reddit's content.Needless to say, I'm bullish on Reddit. The opportunity!Reddit has become crucial for AI development, and no one else comes close to having this level of rich, human-generated data. It's seen as the last town square for free human conversation.Here is your opportunity. While it's evident that Reddit is worth watching in the stock market (not financial advice), its newfound profitability means it will likely invest more in the platform to improve user experience, add new features, and scale its reach.But here is what I find really interesting.Also: Cerebras CEO on DeepSeek: Every time computing gets cheaper, the market gets biggerIn 2019, Reddit had 430 million monthly active users. By the end of 2024, that number hit 1.21 billion. This is significant because this is a mature platform, not a startup. This kind of growth at this stage is meaningful and something to pay attention to.I'm totally speculating here, but this growth ultimately comes from users craving real human connections.No bots. No algorithm force-feeding them content they don't want. It's authentic human interaction.This is where I see an opportunity to market your product or service.Wherever people gather, there's potential to connect with the right audience. Now that Reddit is profitable, it's likely to invest in the platform, potentially making it a bigger contender in the digital marketing space alongside Meta and Google.Also: The work tasks people use Claude AI for most, according to AnthropicThat said, Reddit's community isn't like any other. You neeeeeeeeedddddddddd to be authentic or you are going to get cooked.Focus on providing value, and don't try to be too salesy. Find ways to add to the conversation rather than take.Here is a link to some Reddit case studiesso you can get a feel of what works. My two centsI'll leave you with this.We should keep an eye on Reddit from a stock performance perspective and as a potential new traffic source to reduce dependence on Meta and Google. The real opportunity isn't just in AI or any one platform but in how we adapt as things shift. Platforms come and go, algorithms change, and tech keeps evolving, but the goal is always to reach the right people in a way that actually matters.By the way, if you want more data-driven business insights like this, sign up for my free newsletter, No Fluff Just Facts. I share what's working, the latest trends, and the occasional pep talk to keep you inspired. If this sounds like your jam, click here to sign up; it's totally free. Hope this helps. I'm rooting for you.Featured