Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo
Hyperscaler AI capital spending topped $700 billion for 2026, according to Reuters reporting on Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon's combined capex guidance (Reuters, cited via Yahoo Finance, May 1, 2026). Meta alone guided to $125 billion to $145 billion in full-year 2026 capex. That spending has pulled a narrow group of AI-linked stocks to the center of the US equity market, and it's reshaping how advisors build client portfolios.
A handful of mega-cap names now drive a disproportionate share of US equity returns, and that concentration is exactly why AI exposure has become a portfolio decision advisors can't avoid. Some want single-stock exposure to the AI winners directly. Others would rather diversify across the theme than bet the client's account on any one name.
Why AI ETFs Are Gaining Ground
A thematic ETF offers a simple answer to that second group: broad AI exposure in one ticker, without the position-sizing risk of loading up on NVIDIA, Microsoft, or Palantir individually. It's also an easier conversation to have with a client than picking winners among dozens of AI-adjacent names, and it's more liquid and lower-cost than trying to access private AI companies directly. That combination, diversification, simplicity, and access, is what's pulled advisor dollars into the category.
Top 5 AI ETFs by RIA Ownership
Dakota Marketplace's 13F dataset tracks RIA equity positions as they're filed, ticker by ticker. Ranked by breadth of RIA ownership across the five most recent quarterly 13F filing periods on record (Q4 2024 through Q4 2025):
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Ticker
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ETF
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Strategy
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BOTZ
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Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF
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Industrial and non-industrial robotics and automation companies, from robotic arm and factory equipment manufacturers to firms building AI-driven automation systems.
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AIQ
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Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF
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Companies across the AI value chain: semiconductor and infrastructure providers, cloud platforms, and companies applying AI within their own products.
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QTUM
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Defiance Quantum ETF
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Quantum computing and machine learning exposure, spanning chipmakers, software providers, and companies building next-generation computing infrastructure.
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ARTY (formerly IRBO)
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iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF
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A broader multisector approach to robotics, automation, and AI-driven businesses across industries rather than a concentration in tech names.
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ROBO
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ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF
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One of the original robotics and automation index funds: industrial robotics, factory automation, and the sensor and software providers that enable it.
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Source: Dakota Marketplace 13F holdings data, RIA-filed positions, Q4 2024 through Q4 2025 filing periods.
Dakota's 13F data doesn't just show that AI ETFs are popular. It shows exactly which RIAs are buying which tickers, how big their positions are, and how that ownership is shifting quarter to quarter. Dakota Marketplace tracks 17,109 RIA accounts in the US (Dakota Marketplace platform data, January 2026), each filterable by 13F holdings, ticker, filing quarter, AUM, and metro area. Want to see who holds a specific AI ETF, or track a name as new 13F filings post?
Book a demo to pull it directly in Dakota Marketplace.
