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I invest most of my retirement savings in high-quality assets (eg index funds and blue-chip growth stocks such as Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple). However, I do allocate a small amount of capital to what I call ‘moonshot’ growth stocks. These are stocks that are high up on the risk spectrum but have a chance of generating exceptionally large returns over the next decade.
Here’s a look at the two moonshots I own right now.
A play on self-driving vehicles and humanoid robotics
First up, we have Hesai (NASDAQ: HSAI). It’s a Chinese company that specialises in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology and is listed on both the Nasdaq and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The reason I’ve invested in this company is that I expect demand for LiDAR solutions to soar over the next decade. Not only should demand come from automotive companies deploying advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and driverless vehicles, but it should also come from the humanoid robotic space (many robots use LiDAR for perception).
It’s worth noting that revenues here are growing at a spectacular rate. In the third quarter of 2025, for example, they were up 47% year on year to $112m.
Meanwhile, profits are starting to emerge as well. For Q3, non-GAAP net income was about $40m versus a net loss a year earlier.
Now, despite the impressive level of growth (and a valuation that looks very reasonable), this stock’s extremely risky. Some risks to consider include US/China relations, a delisting from the US, competition from rivals, and new technologies that could make LiDAR obsolete.
Given the risks, I’ve kept my position really small. That way, if the stock blows up, my retirement portfolio won’t be badly impacted.
I see a lot of potential though. I think this stock could be worth a closer look if an investor’s looking for high-growth opportunities.
A growth stock for the quantum computing boom
The other stock in my portfolio I consider to be a moonshot is SkyWater Technology (NASDAQ: SKYT). It’s a small US chip manufacturer that’s increasingly focusing on the quantum computing market.
Looking ahead, SkyWater plans to be the chip manufacturing ‘partner of choice’ for quantum computing businesses. So with this stock I get exposure to the quantum computing industry without having to make a bet on an individual company’s technology.
Of course, quantum computing’s an emerging technology and it may never take off – that’s a key risk here.
The good news however, is that this chip company also serves customers in the defence, aerospace, automotive, consumer, healthcare, and industrial markets. So it’s relatively diversified.
As for the valuation, this looks attractive. If we take the revenue forecast of $609m for next year and the current market-cap of $800m, we get a price-to-sales ratio of just 1.6.
I’ll be keeping my position small though. With this one, share price swings of 10%-20% a day are the norm so I don’t want to have a large position that might tank my portfolio if things go wrong.
Taking a five-year view however, I see a lot of potential. I think this growth stock’s worthy of further research.
