Robots, AI and two German surprise guests: What’s really in the big AI ETFs

Surgical robots now operate more precisely than experienced human doctors, autonomous drones pollinate orchards in Japan, and robots in Dutch greenhouses harvest individual strawberries without damaging the fruit. What sounds like science fiction has long been reality and a growing market for investors. ETFs like that Amundi MSCI Robotics & AI UCITS ETF Acc* (ISIN: LU1861132840), the Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence and Big Data* (ISIN: IE00BGV5VN51) or the L&G Artificial Intelligence (ISIN: IE00BK5BCD43) sometimes bundle several trends in a single product.

AI market growth forecast: From $758 billion to over $4 trillion

The stories behind the anonymous AI applications and robotics systems are impressive – and so are the numbers: The global market for artificial intelligence was around $758 billion last year. According to the market research institute Precedence Research, it is expected to grow to around $4,216 billion ($4.2 trillion) by 2035 – that corresponds to annual growth of almost 19%. The main drivers are generative AI, the further automation of business processes and the rapidly increasing demand for AI chips.

At the same time, robotics is growing: the global robot market was worth $53.1 billion in 2025 and, according to Global Market Insights, is expected to rise to around $257.5 billion by 2035 – this corresponds to an annual growth rate of 17.6%. Rising labor costs and the global shortage of skilled workers are accelerating automation in industry, logistics and increasingly in the service sector.

How robotics is changing the world

Anyone who only thinks of welding robots in car factories when they think of robotics is missing the most exciting developments. A few examples that show how broad the field has become: In agriculture, companies use so-called agri-bots that use camera systems to detect individual weed plants and treat them specifically with microdoses of herbicide – this saves up to 90% of pesticides. In the deep sea, autonomous underwater robots map coral reefs and monitor offshore wind farms where divers can hardly work. Particularly impressive: In Tokyo hotels, humanoid robots not only take care of check-in, but also prepare ramen noodle soups – the online reviews from guests are surprisingly positive. And in the construction industry, robots are now printing entire house walls out of concrete, which can shorten construction time by up to 70%. But the following still applies: without the human colleague it doesn’t work.

Two megatrends, one ETF

As a result, the AI ​​investments should be Amundi MSCI Robotics & AI UCITS ETF Acc need to be looked at in more detail, as the composition of the ETFs described is similar. Specifically, the ETF physically replicates the MSCI ACWI IMI Robotics & AI Index. So the actual stocks are in the pot; there is no synthetic construction. When looking at the individual values, the global approach becomes apparent. These are internationally operating companies with a focus on AI, robotics or automation. Since its launch in September 2018, the ETF has now raised more than one billion euros. With a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.40%, it is not a bargain compared to a conventional global ETF, but for a specialized thematic portfolio it is absolutely within the range in terms of costs. Income automatically flows back into the fund (accumulating) – this is how the power of the compound interest effect unfolds for investors over the term of the investment.

The topic of artificial intelligence goes beyond pure technology and illustrates how intelligence is embedded throughout the real economy, from manufacturing and logistics to medical devices and robotics. The Amundi MSCI Robotics & AI UCITS ETF Acc is designed to capture these broad innovation opportunities through diversified exposure to companies that are enabling, implementing and benefiting from the next wave of intelligent automation across the various sectors of the economy.

What’s inside? The top holdings under the microscope

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – 5.34 percent is the largest position in the portfolio. The US chip manufacturer is considered NVIDIA’s closest rival in the AI ​​accelerator market and has recently gained significant market share with its MI300 chip series. AMD serves both hyperscalers like Microsoft and Meta as well as the growing market for AI inference in data centers. The share has developed to the industry’s surprise in 2026: With a price increase of around 113 percent since the beginning of the year, AMD has shortened NVIDIA’s long-standing lead in terms of performance. At the beginning of May, the share reached an all-time high of 456 US dollars (around 390 euros).

Alphabet – 9.37 percent (A and C shares combined) and its Google parent company are one of the key AI infrastructure providers worldwide. In addition to the search engine, Alphabet operates one of the leading AI platforms for companies, Google Cloud, and is developing its own large language model, Gemini, which directly competes with OpenAI. Over the past twelve months, the share has gained around 141 percent (based on the C share in euros) – analysts justify this with Alphabet’s position as the only company that controls the entire AI stack from the chip to the cloud to the application itself.

Cisco Systems – 4.22 percent is the network specialist that is increasingly integrating AI into its core products. With the acquisition of Splunk, Cisco has significantly expanded its position in AI-powered security and network analytics – a growth area that directly benefits from the increasing data load caused by AI applications. In the most recent quarter, Cisco was able to reach the entire previous year’s volume in a single quarter with AI-related orders from hyperscalers amounting to $2.1 billion – a clear signal that the company is once again one of the AI ​​beneficiaries.

Broadcom – 3.94 percent is a semiconductor manufacturer that is benefiting greatly from AI infrastructure demand. The company develops, among other things, tailor-made AI chips (ASICs) for Google and Meta and is considered one of the most important suppliers in the area of ​​network and data center infrastructure. In the most recent quarter, AI sales increased more than 100 percent to $8.4 billion; Management predicts AI chip sales of over $100 billion by 2027.

NVIDIA – 3.70 percent is the best-known company in the index despite its comparatively moderate weighting. The graphics card pioneer has become the dominant provider of AI training chips – its H100 and B200 GPUs are highly sought-after hardware in AI data centers worldwide. After a consolidation phase at the beginning of 2026, the share price has recently risen sharply again. CEO Jensen Huang put the visible demand for the upcoming Blackwell and Ruby chip generations at over $1 trillion by the end of 2027.

Germany is also getting involved: two DAX companies in the AI ​​index

If you only think of Silicon Valley giants when it comes to AI and robotics ETFs, you should take a second look at the composition. Because in the middle of AMD, Alphabet and NVIDIA there are two German companies: SAP in 18th place and Infineon in 20th place in the Amundi – even ahead of well-known US names like Fortinet or Autodesk. Both play a role in the global AI ecosystem that may seem surprising at first glance.

SAP – 2.10 percent in Amundi and 2.39 percent in Xtrackers – is Europe’s most valuable technology group and, with its business AI strategy, has transformed itself from a classic ERP provider to an AI infrastructure supplier for the global economy. With the AI ​​assistant Joule and the increasing integration of generative AI into its cloud platforms, SAP addresses over 400,000 corporate customers worldwide – exactly the companies that do not want to develop AI themselves, but rather embed it in their business processes. SAP thus plays a key role that is often underestimated: it is not the AI ​​chip alone that determines success, but the software that makes it usable for companies.

Infineon – 2.07 percent in Amundi and 2.80 percent in L&G – is Europe’s largest semiconductor manufacturer and a key supplier for the physical side of the AI ​​revolution. Wherever robots move, autonomous vehicles navigate or industrial plants are intelligently controlled, there are Infineon chips in them: power semiconductors, sensors and microcontrollers that translate data from the real world into digital signals. While AMD and NVIDIA provide the computing power in the cloud, Infineon ensures that AI actually works in the physical world – from robot arms to electric cars.

On your own behalf

What investors should consider

The Amundi MSCI Robotics & AI ETF is a thematic ETF: Concentrating on one or two sectors means less diversification than with a broad world equity ETF. Investors who want to invest should view the ETF as an addition to the portfolio, not as a core component. The markets for AI and robotics are still relatively at the beginning of their growth cycle – the potential is great, but so are the fluctuations due to the dynamics of innovation. And even if the overall market and the associated companies have developed positively, history is no indicator for the future. However, if you want to take advantage of the market’s potential, the ETF gives you broader access than is the case with individual stocks and, with a sufficiently long investment period of several years, you can check whether the portfolio fits your own strategy.