Summary
- The most straightforward way to invest in AI is to invest in AI funds and AI stocks.
- AI investments may have growth potential, but there are also some risks you’ll want to consider.
- Investing too heavily in one sector can create a riskier portfolio, so you may want to consult with a financial advisor to create a portfolio to meet your goals.
- Unbiased can connect you to an advisor for all your investing questions.
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is technology that attempts to replicate human skill, intelligence, and productivity.
The technology behind it is built on algorithms, machine learning and deep learning, synthesizing vast amounts of information to produce human-like results.
AI has the power to transform business, and that’s valuable for every company out there. Worldwide spending exceeded $1.5 trillion in 2025, and it’s only going to increase.
Yet, investing in AI isn’t straightforward. Regulatory measures, ethical concerns, and hype can make your investment less than a sure bet.
Ways to invest in AI
To invest in artificial intelligence, you’ll need exposure to companies that lay the foundation and build the framework for AI, whether directly or indirectly.
The most straightforward way to invest in AI companies is to invest in AI stocks and ETFs.
How to invest in AI stocks
AI stocks include more companies than you would expect. It’s not just the companies that manufacture and develop AI, but it’s also big companies that invest in AI to improve productivity, manage data, create the infrastructure to support computing, and so on.
AI stocks are shares in companies with significant exposure to and benefit from AI technology. Stocks allow investors to gain exposure to different areas of AI, such as microchip production, cloud services, modeling, and more.
To invest in AI stocks, you’ll need to open a brokerage account, transfer money to the new account, and choose stocks to buy.
Some AI stocks to watch include:
- Apple (AAPL): Consumer tech company integrating AI into devices and software.
- ASML (ASML): Manufactures extreme ultraviolet lithography machines for advanced artificial intelligence chips.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC): Leading manufacturer of advanced chips for artificial intelligence and other high-performing computing.
- NVIDIA (NVDA): Leading provider of AI chips and data center computing systems used to train and run AI models.
- Microsoft (MSFT): Cloud and software company embedding AI into workplace tools.
- Alphabet (GOOGL): Leading AI search and cloud platform provider.
- Broadcom (AVGO): Advanced AI chips to train and run inference for large language models.
- Meta Platforms (META): Social media company using AI to improve ad recommendations and chatbot experience.
- Alibaba Group (BABA): Uses AI algorithms, chatbots, and cloud AI to improve the shopping experience and drive revenue.
- Tencent Holdings (TCEHY): Chinese internet company with AI applications in popular gaming, social media, and advertising services.
- Adobe (ADBE): Content creation software provider with generative AI integrations in its software.
- Arista (ANET): Hardware provider for AI data centers.
- Accenture (ACN): IT services firm helping organizations adopt AI technologies.
- Snowflake (SNOW): Cloud data platform helping organizations manage AI workloads.
How to invest in AI ETFs
You may choose to invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is a group of investments pooled together in a single fund around a theme or strategy, such as AI.
To qualify as an AI ETF, the fund must develop technology related to AI, have at least 25% of the fund exposed to companies that spend on AI research and development, or use AI methodologies to select individual securities to include in the fund. 57 AI ETFs are listed on ETF Database.
The largest funds (as measured by total assets) are listed in the chart below.
Symbol | ETF Name | Total Assets ($MM) | YTD Price Change | Avg. Daily Volume | Previous Closing Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$23,703 | 20.57% | 1,777,408.00 | $240.66 | ||
$19,535 | 20.63% | 438,260.00 | $270.74 | ||
$10,246 | 19.78% | 797,106.00 | $154.66 | ||
$9,688 | 22.12% | 1,995,424.00 | $62.11 | ||
$8,901 | 26.94% | 282,155.00 | $133.29 | ||
$5,111 | -1.68% | 664,590.00 | $264.65 | ||
$4,761 | 34.13% | 380,919.00 | $146.79 | ||
$3,839 | 15.14% | 120,232.00 | $80.30 | ||
$3,771 | 14.90% | 956,905.00 | $41.63 | ||
$2,748 | 15.99% | 75,440.00 | $69.19 | ||
$2,243 | 19.14% | 180,568.00 | $136.61 | ||
$1,904 | 25.90% | 174,866.00 | $87.26 | ||
$1,612 | 50.24% | 463,310.00 | $88.58 | ||
$1,074 | 15.37% | 552,215.00 | $36.47 | ||
$1,066 | 53.99% | 73,881.00 | $91.58 |
Source: ETF Database. As of May 14, 2026.
The pros and cons of investing in AI
AI investing has some clear pros and cons, which we’ll outline below.
Pros
- High growth potential: Adoption of artificial intelligence is still in the early stages, and you may see growth in the companies you invest in.
- Innovative leaders: Many companies with significant exposure to AI are leaders in their field.
- Accessible: Some of the largest companies in the world have significant development or exposure to AI. This creates opportunities for investing in AI in companies that are well-established with a clear track record.
- Widespread adoption across industries: AI isn’t just about the tech industry. It has far-reaching applications and adoption. It’s relevant to healthcare, IT, manufacturing, the public sector, and more. Even more, this adoption is happening worldwide.
- Multiple revenue streams: The sheer volume of data collected and analyzed by AI companies creates opportunities to monetize data and create more value from the data.
Cons
- Regulatory considerations: New regulatory measures could affect the performance and profitability of AI, and as a result, your investment.
- Ethical considerations: Ethical issues with AI include bias, privacy, transparency, security, accountability, environmental impact, job replacement, misuse, and many more. Regulatory measures and public perception regarding ethical considerations can affect how your AI investment performs.
- Speculation: AI is not a secret anymore, and many investors are looking to sink their money into the companies behind it. This can lead to overvalued companies and hype that sends stock prices sky high.
- Concentration exposure risk: If you concentrate on investing in AI stocks, you may create a diversification issue. The market won’t always favor the same sectors, such as AI.
- Cost: AI is expensive to operate. It needs a significant amount of innovation, development, computing power, and a highly skilled team to operate.
What are the risks of investing in AI?
Many of the major risks of investing in AI overlap with the cons mentioned previously. More precisely, they can be summed up as follows:
Overvaluation
Media attention and hype surrounding AI can create overvalued investments, which may eventually correct or fail to deliver the expected results.
Concentration risk
Investing too heavily in one area of AI can increase volatility and leave your portfolio exposed if one of your investments doesn’t perform as expected.
Regulatory risk
Increased government oversight and regulation could cause losses for investors. Copyright, privacy, safety, transparency, and ethical issues could all face legal guardrails, which could affect your investment.
Overestimation of adoption pace
Investors may overestimate how quickly consumers and enterprises will adopt AI technology. This creates a profit expectation that may not be fulfilled.
Technological and cybersecurity risks
Technology changes rapidly, and companies face challenges from cybersecurity to losing their competitive advantage to a competitor. These issues are expensive and may affect profitability.
Is it worth investing in AI?
If you’re an investor, you may already be invested in AI, whether you realize it or not.
The major tech companies in the world, such as Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Meta, Google, and NVIDIA, are already invested heavily in AI.
Adding more AI stocks and ETFs to your portfolio comes with many benefits, as well as drawbacks and risks. Whether it’s worth investing in may come down to your individual goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
The bottom line
You don’t need to make investing decisions alone.
Enlisting the help of a financial advisor who can help you create a strong, diversified portfolio that meets your needs.
Unbiased can connect you to a financial advisor who can advise on all the ways to invest, including investing in AI.