3 AI ETFs That Let You Invest in the Entire AI Boom at Once

Key Points

• AI funds like ARTY and BAI can provide investors with broad exposure to different corners of the industry, including hardware, infrastructure, and more.
• Diversifying via an AI fund like this may help investors to capture gains across the growing field without risking missing out on companies that may surge forward in the future.
• NUKZ isn't AI-focused specifically, but its targeted approach to the nuclear energy space—and its 74% return in the last year—make it a valuable contribution to an AI portfolio nonetheless.

With the AI landscape constantly shifting, investors may not feel confident selecting individual companies in the space to target. Fortunately, a selective investment in a handful of AI-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can offer broad exposure to this fast-growing space, including everything from infrastructure to hardware, applications, and energy, all in just a few funds.

By casting a wide net with the AI funds below, investors do not put themselves in the position of betting exclusively on either big-name tech companies with AI operations or lesser-known firms with significant potential but also a high degree of risk. Rather, the diversification these funds offer can provide broad exposure, at least until such a time as the industry has matured and new individual names have cemented themselves as leaders.

Global AI Exposure, But a Modestly Sized Portfolio

A fund exploring the global AI space, the iShares Future AI & Tech ETF NYSEARCA: ARTY aims to be a one-stop shop investment for the AI value chain, with companies in the software, services, and infrastructure spaces, among others.

What may keep ARTY from being a singular AI ETF in many portfolios is its fairly narrow basket: the fund holds just over 50 stocks, about two-thirds of which are based in the United States. The remainder comes from Taiwan, South Korea, France, and a number of other countries.

ARTY's top holdings lean on hardware companies like AMD NASDAQ: AMD and NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA. This approach has paid off, as the fund has returned more than 40% in the last year, although it is down slightly year-to-date (YTD) in 2026. For an expense ratio of 0.47%, many investors may find the fund's performance history quite compelling.

An Active Approach for BAI Means Greater Flexibility and Responsiveness

Although its portfolio is of a similar size to ARTY's, the iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF NYSEARCA: BAI uses an active management approach that differs fundamentally from the fund above. BAI focuses on global AI and tech stocks across market capitalizations and enjoys a higher average trading volume than many other AI funds (its one-month average volume is around 2.8 million).

It's true that BAI is not a pure-play AI fund, and investors will find some companies that utilize AI but that are not typically thought of as "AI stocks" here. In this way, the fund may appeal to those with a broader tech mandate or with a willingness to expand beyond the most common AI names. BAI's international focus may also enhance its appeal for this reason.

Investors should beware that there is some overlap between the portfolios of ARTY and BAI. Investing in both funds may inadvertently overexposure an investor to some of the bigger names in the AI space—think companies like NVIDIA, for example. With its active approach, however, BAI can be nimble and adjust its holdings quickly in case of shifts in the industry that suddenly favor new companies; this is a benefit over ARTY and other passively managed funds that rebalance periodically. The fund's annual fee of 0.55% is also fairly modest for an active ETF, and it is up about 45% in the last year.

A Nuclear Strategy That Has Paid Off in a Big Way

While AI draws energy from a host of sources, nuclear energy is increasingly a key supplier for data centers throughout the country. The Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF NYSEARCA: NUKZ is not an AI-centered ETF exactly, but its focus on advanced nuclear reactors, utilities, construction, services, and fuel means that it is necessarily tied to the AI industry.

For an expense ratio of 0.85%, NUKZ offers exposure to close to 50 global nuclear energy stocks, including some non-U.S. names that are likely to be less well-known to domestic investors. Aside from an outsized position in Cameco Corp. NYSE: CCJ, invested assets are also fairly evenly distributed across much of the portfolio.

As a specialized fund with a fairly niche strategy, NUKZ is somewhat more expensive than the other ETFs on this list. However, investors may be swayed based on its recent performance: NUKZ is up over 60% in the last year, and slightly YTD, as interest in non-fossil fuel energy companies surges amid the war in Iran.

The fund's unique focus also means it has modest assets under management and one-month average trading volume compared to the ETFs above, although at about $754 million and 93,000, respectively, investors should not face extreme liquidity concerns here.