SA Asks: What are the best AI-focused ETFs right now?

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What are the best AI-focused ETFs right now for investors?

In a recent Seeking Alpha readers poll on AI investing, 26.9% said they believed investors should place the most capital in AI-focused ETFs and funds, while 54.8% saw infrastructure/hardware stocks as the best investment. Another 10% picked core AI software, with the remainder choosing AI-utilizing apps.

[Results from Seeking Alpha readers poll on AI investment options. ]
Seeking Alpha readers poll on AI investing (Seeking Alpha)

We asked Seeking Alpha analysts Eliana Scialabba [https://seekingalpha.com/author/eliana-scialabba] and Elizabeth Pramila [https://seekingalpha.com/author/elizabeth-pramila] which AI-focused ETFs they preferred.

Eliana Scialabba [https://seekingalpha.com/author/eliana-scialabba]: When I look at AI-themed ETFs, I see a market still defining how to turn technological disruption into an investment theme. Some focus on the physical infrastructure behind AI, while others capture the software and application layer. Together, they outline different ways of imagining what “AI exposure” really means.

I’ve been following the iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (ARTY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ARTY]), which seeks to mirror the full AI value chain—from data and chips to software and services. It offers a broader ecosystem view rather than simply chasing semiconductor names, though that also makes it more volatile. The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AIQ]) feels more diversified, mixing companies that develop AI with those applying it across industries, which softens the thematic risk without losing relevance.

Then there’s the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BOTZ]), which connects AI to automation and robotics, giving the theme a tangible, industrial dimension. And the Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (IGPT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IGPT]) brings a more selective approach, focusing on firms pushing the software frontier.

To me, these ETFs together reflect the many faces of the AI revolution—from hardware and code to the real economy—and show how investors are still learning to price intelligence itself.

Elizabeth Pramila [https://seekingalpha.com/author/elizabeth-pramila]: I would challenge you to think of this as a risk exercise.

Investors with smaller appetites for risk could consider broader ETFs like the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/QQQ]). A good mix up and down the "AI cascade," and the larger constituents are cash-rich and "moated" enough to provide ballast during economic and geopolitical storms.

A little more niche, and one arrives at ETFs like Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AIQ]) and iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (ARTY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ARTY]). Broad enough to still preserve some diversification but narrow enough to capture alpha with a bit more finesse than QQQ.

Then come the more specific vehicles like Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF (DTCR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DTCR]), ARK Autonomous Tech & Robotics ETF (ARKQ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/ARKQ]), and Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BOTZ]). As niche as ETFs can get without direct exposure to high-valuation names.

Remember, AI is at a stage where the infrastructure is still being built out and end-user monetization is yet to fully materialize, so I would recommend a 50-30-20 ratio: 50 percent in the broadest, 30 percent in the narrowest, and 20 percent in the middle group.

This sets one up for adequate exposure to the current stage of the cascade (chip technologies, data centers, automation, robotics, vehicular autonomy, and so on), gives one ample anchorage with the broadest and relatively safest companies, and tops it off with a small dollop of additional alpha from a slightly more diversified mix that still retains some concentration benefits.

This is a good way to take on risk in a controlled manner, and it seems to be paying off nicely after the market was spooked by the tariff monster in early April. The curl-down in the past week is just that risk making itself known again. Be cautious, be calculated, but stay invested.

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