Think It's Too Late to Buy Tempus AI? Here's the Biggest Reason Why There's Still Time.

Scott Levine, The Motley Fool

Fri, May 2, 2025, 5:58 AM 3 min read

Key Points

Tempus AI is a leader in applying AI solutions to cancer diagnosis.
The company announced a new platform for speeding up the discovery of new drug targets.
Since it's still unprofitable, Tempus AI is an investment with a higher degree of risk.

When it comes to shares of Tempus AI (NASDAQ: TEM), many may feel like they're standing on a dock watching the stock sail off to the horizon. It's understandable if you identify with this. After all, shares of Tempus AI, a healthcare-oriented artificial intelligence (AI) leader, have soared more than 54% year to date (as of this writing), while the S&P 500 has plunged over 5%.

But there's no need to fret that you've missed the boat on Tempus AI stock. While its climb so far in 2025 is impressive, it's easy to see how this specialist in applying AI to the field of oncology can skyrocket even higher in the future.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Tempus AI's growth has only just begun

Since its founding in 2015, Tempus AI has made great strides in advancing its AI solutions for the treatment of cancer. The company, in fact, characterizes itself as possessing what it "consider[s] to be one of the largest libraries of clinical and molecular oncology data in the world." It's with this resource that Tempus is able to provide physicians with a powerful diagnostic tool that helps to inform better treatment options.

And the company continues to develop innovative solutions. Recently, Tempus announced a new tool to help identify new targets for cancer treatment: Tempus Loop. Using patient data, models, and CRISPR screening, Tempus Loop expedites the process of discovering and confirming potential drug targets -- something of incredible value considering what Chief Scientific Officer Kate Sasser recognizes as a "90% failure rate for preclinical assets to become real-world medicines."Essentially, Tempus Loop can be of great assistance to pharmaceutical companies as a way of reducing research and development spending.

Already, Tempus has received attention from leading drugmakers. It recently announced an expanded partnership with AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) to discover new drug targets, among other things.

Before clicking the buy button, take time to examine the risks

While Tempus is at the forefront of the intersection between AI and oncology, this investment requires higher risk-tolerance at the moment since the business is still unprofitable.