ChatGPT mania sends these obscure artificial intelligence stocks soaring as hype extends beyond big caps

• The investor craze over ChatGPT has extended to small-cap artificial intelligence stocks.
• Shares of both BigBear.ai and SoundHound AI have notched big gains to start the year.

The craze surrounding OpenAI's ChatGPT has reached small-cap artificial intelligence stocks, as investors relay excitement over the potential future of the space.

Under-the-radar firms BigBear.ai and SoundHound AI have both seen bullish runs in recent months. In January alone, BigBear saw an increase of 356%, while SoundHound climbed 56%.

BigBear.ai is rooted in artificial intelligence, and the firm's breadth of products offer applications to industries including healthcare, government and manufacturing. SoundHound, meanwhile, focuses on conversational intelligence, which integrates AI interactions with users that is voice activated.

Shares of BigBear.ai also got a big lift last month, when the company received a US Air Force contract that could potentially be worth as much as $900 million.

The success and criticism over ChatGPT has pushed investors to closely eye the artificial intelligence sector in 2023, with the underlying technology showing signs of advances sooner than previously thought.

The hype surrounding OpenAI's brainchild has already sent several larger artificial intelligence stocks soaring since ChatGPT's launch on November 30.

And competitors are stepping up their presence into the AI space in response to the success of ChatGPT. Google is testing new artificial intelligence technology that could inform a future product launch, sources told CNBC.

One of them is a chatbot called "Apprentice Bard," which can provide answers to questions similar to ChatGPT, the report said.