AI-related exchange-traded funds have reached a record 19% of all US ETF trading volume, as investors funnel money into semiconductor, technology, and memory-chip funds. The approximately 92 funds in the category pulled in $19 billion in 2025, up from $4.2 billion the year before, while trading activity increasingly bypasses crypto markets.
Nearly one in five dollars trading through US exchange-traded funds is now chasing artificial intelligence. AI-related ETFs have hit a record 19% of total US ETF trading volume, a threshold that shows how much of Wall Street's attention the AI trade has captured, and how much of that activity now sits outside the crypto markets that once claimed the AI narrative.
The category casts a wide net. It groups semiconductor ETFs, broad technology funds, memory-chip vehicles, and even South Korea-themed funds tied to chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix, given the country's role in chip manufacturing.
Inflows jump 4.5 times in a year
AI-focused ETFs pulled in $19 billion in inflows during 2025, up from $4.2 billion in 2024, roughly a 4.5x jump in a single year. The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ), the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), and the Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF (CHAT) are among the funds driving those flows.
For context, US-listed ETFs overall drew a record $1.4 trillion in total inflows during 2025. The AI segment's $19 billion looks modest against that figure, but its share of trading volume shows where the daily activity concentrates.
A fast-growing corner of the ETF market
The AI-ETF field has expanded quickly since ChatGPT launched in late 2022. Launching a new fund remains straightforward, and investor demand has stayed strong, a combination that has pushed the category to approximately 92 US-listed AI ETFs holding about $50.8 billion in combined assets. Those funds carry an average expense ratio of 0.74%, well above the fees typical of broad-market index funds.
Money bypasses crypto, raising concentration risk
The 19% volume figure shows where capital is flowing right now: into traditional equity vehicles with AI exposure, not into AI tokens, decentralized compute networks, or crypto-native AI projects. That concentration carries a risk.
When 19% of ETF trading volume sits in a single thematic cluster, a shift in AI sentiment could create outsized market moves. Those moves tend to ripple across correlated assets, and crypto markets have historically shown sensitivity to tech-sector drawdowns.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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