Artificial intelligence (“AI”) may be the stock market’s hottest trend in 2026. Returns on some of the most popular AI and semiconductor funds have exceeded 100% over the course of the past year.
While everyone knows the big tech stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT), even smaller companies can offer huge upside in the AI boom. It’s a rapidly evolving area that requires substantial technical expertise, so investors may find it challenging to build a portfolio of winning AI stocks on their own.
One solution is to invest in the best AI exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), which have generated strong returns for years.
AI is one of the most exciting areas of business, with the potential to rapidly increase productivity. Companies are incorporating AI into a wide range of devices and processes, helping revenue explode across sectors, notably the semiconductor industry.
That’s really the biggest advantage of using ETFs – they simplify your investing life. These funds take the hard work out of playing the stock market’s supertrends. You won’t need to spend the time and energy analyzing dozens of companies. A good AI fund also diversifies your holdings, meaning even a losing stock doesn’t hurt your overall performance too much.
The best AI ETFs give investors of all skill levels a quick and easy way to invest in companies profiting from the AI boom. Here are seven of the best AI ETFs to invest in for 2026.
7 Top AI ETFs to Buy
The best AI funds offer a variety of different investments in stocks benefiting from the AI gold rush, as investors wait for top AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic to go public.
Most of the ETFs below are index funds, meaning they passively track a specific stock index.
| Fund (ticker) | One-year return | Three-year annualized return | Expense ratio |
| iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (ARTY) | 72.2% | 29.2% | 0.47% |
| Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (IGPT) | 93.7% | 38.5% | 0.56% |
| VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) | 109.5% | 57.5% | 0.35% |
| Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) | 40.7% | 30.4% | 0.68% |
| iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) | 133.8% | 50.2% | 0.34% |
| Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF (CHAT) | 87.2% | 46.7% | 0.75% |
| WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund (WTAI) | 74.8% | 31.4% | 0.45% |
How MarketWise Selected These Funds
MarketWise chose its best AI ETFs based on the following criteria:
Funds with exposure to AI-related industries
- Funds with more than a year of strong returns, and ideally several years
- A low expense ratio
- No leveraged or inverse funds
1. iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (ARTY)
This fund tracks the Morningstar Global Artificial Intelligence Select Index, which includes U.S. and international stocks. Its investments focus on generative AI, AI data and infrastructure, and AI software and services.
Top holdings: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron (MU), Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), Broadcom (AVGO)
2. Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (IGPT)
This fund tracks the STOXX World AC NexGen Software Development Index, which includes firms that contribute to future software development. Its portfolio consists of about 100 stocks.
Top holdings: Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet (GOOGL), Nvidia, Micron, Meta Platforms (META)
3. VanEck Semiconductor ETF Fund (SMH)
A semiconductor-themed ETF? Yes, chip companies play an integral role in powering the AI boom. This fund tracks the MVIS U.S. Listed Semiconductor 25 Index, which includes 25 semiconductor production and equipment companies. This fund is also featured on our list of the best semiconductor ETFs.
Top holdings: Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Broadcom, Advanced Micro Devices, Micron
4. Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ)
This fund tracks the Indxx Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Index, owning U.S. and foreign companies that benefit from AI. So, the fund invests in companies that directly produce AI technology, as well as those that use it to improve their own businesses.
Top holdings: Samsung, SK Hynix (SKHY), Micron, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel (INTC)
5. iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX)
Another chip-themed offering, this passively managed fund tracks the NYSE Semiconductor Index, which includes the 30 largest U.S.-listed semiconductor stocks by market cap.
Top holdings: Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel
6. Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF (CHAT)
This actively managed fund invests in companies worldwide, not just U.S.-listed names, with about one-third (by market capitalization) of its 40-plus positions in non-domestic holdings. The fund opened in May 2023, and management says it’s “the first ETF globally focused on providing exposure to companies developing generative artificial intelligence and related technologies.”
Top holdings: Alphabet, Nvidia, Knowledge Atlas Technology, SK Hynix, Advanced Micro Devices
7. WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund (WTAI)
This passively managed fund tracks the WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence & Innovation Index, which includes companies that offer AI technology and those that use it in their businesses. Its portfolio has more than 60 stock positions.
Top holdings: Micron, Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet, Nvidia, Samsung
How to Invest in AI ETFs
Here are some tips for investing effectively in AI ETFs and what to watch out for:
- Passive funds often do well: With one exception, the funds above are passively managed, meaning fund managers simply track an established stock index mechanically rather than analyze stocks themselves. Lots of research suggests that passive investing tends to outperform active investing over time.
- Look at the expense ratio: It’s easy to gloss over the expense ratio in favor of high returns, but it’s vital to factor in your fund’s cost. The expense ratio is the annual fee you pay the fund manager, expressed as a percentage of your investment in the fund. Every dollar that doesn’t go to the manager stays in the fund to compound. An expense ratio below 0.5% is attractive, but it may be worth paying more for sustained outperformance.
- Check out the fund’s long-term record: One of the better gauges of how a fund may perform over time is its long-term track record, such as its five- and ten-year returns. That’s a better view of what you could earn than the fund’s latest one-year returns.
- Beware the market’s hottest funds: From one year to the next, the hottest funds often change, with many of the top funds becoming losers after their strong run. Many investors chase the year’s hot funds, only to discover that the fund can’t continue its blazing performance the next year. Again, look for funds with strong, long-term returns.
Risks of AI ETFs
While AI ETFs have shown stellar returns over the past one and three years, investors have significant risks when investing in them, not least because of that very run higher:
- Prices may have run up too far: The stocks of AI-related companies have had a phenomenal run in the recent past, but trees don’t grow to the sky. These run-ups may fall again, even if AI pans out to be everything its boosters say.
- Unsustainable losses at key AI companies: AI companies such as OpenAI are running heavy losses, and they’re central to the AI economy, since they’re set to spend hundreds of billions with other major established AI players such as Microsoft and Oracle (ORCL).
- AI capabilities may be overstated: Many critics say AI proponents are overstating AI’s actual capabilities, arguing that it’s fundamentally flawed.
- Debt financing underpins AI spending: Companies are issuing hundreds of billions in aggregate debt, including Alphabet and Oracle. If those investments don’t work out, companies are still on the hook to repay the debt. All this debt financing increases investors’ risk if things don’t go according to plan.
Despite the strong run in AI stocks and ETFs, investors should take a long-term perspective on their investments. Buying into an ETF over time helps spread out AI’s substantial risks.
Regards,
James Royal, PhD
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