The Nasdaq has blasted higher over the past two years, gaining more than 43% last year and now heading for an increase of more than 33% for 2024. This is thanks to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, as five of the benchmark's most heavily weighted stocks and several others in the top 10 operate in this high-growth area. Today's $200 billion AI market is forecast to reach more than $1 trillion by the end of the decade, meaning companies that got involved in this technology early could greatly benefit in the years to come.

Why is everyone excited about AI? Because it could revolutionize the way many things are done, saving companies time and money -- and that's great news for earnings growth. This alone could offer us optimism about the path the Nasdaq will take next year.

But history also offers us reason to believe in another Nasdaq win. Since 1990, five out of six periods of gains have involved the index rising for more than two consecutive years. So, the Nasdaq has generally posted three or more years of gains in recent times.

Of course, there's no guarantee this will happen -- indexes and stocks can surprise us -- but if it does, you'll want to be prepared. And the best way to prepare is to buy one particular stock before the Nasdaq soars once again. Let's find out which one.

A member of all three major benchmarks

This player is a member of the Nasdaq, the S&P 500, and, most recently, it joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It's advanced more than 2,400% over the past five years. But don't worry. Thanks to its dominance in the AI market and something important unfolding right now, it still could have plenty of room to run. And that's why it still makes an excellent buy today, one that could again lead the Nasdaq higher next year.

I'm talking about Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the seller of the world's most powerful graphics processing units (GPUs). These chips are key elements in many crucial AI tasks, such as the training and inferencing of models. Customers have recognized Nvidia's strength here, and that's why they've been willing to wait for deliveries of these top products and pay more than they would for rival AI chips. In fact, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison even said in recent times that he and Tesla leader Elon Musk actually begged Nvidia's chief, Jensen Huang, for more GPUs.

So, the world's biggest companies -- those with the resources to invest heavily in AI -- see value in choosing Nvidia over the competition. This and Nvidia's pledge to update its GPUs on an annual basis should keep it in the top spot in this fast-moving industry.