What Is AIQ? Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF

AIQ is the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF, a thematic fund that holds roughly 80 large-cap technology companies tied to artificial intelligence and big data. It tracks the Indxx Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Index, which screens for companies positioned to develop or benefit from AI: chipmakers, cloud platforms, software firms, and large consumer-tech names. At a 0.68% expense ratio, it is a specialized thematic fund rather than a low-cost core holding.

The defining feature of AIQ is breadth within the theme. Rather than concentrating in a handful of chip names, it spreads weight across roughly 80 companies, with the largest positions at roughly 3-5% each. That makes it a single-ticker way to own the broad AI story without betting the whole position on one stock, sitting between a narrow semiconductor fund and a broad Nasdaq fund like QQQ.

Approximate weights as of early 2026; refresh quarterly from Global X's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

AIQ's top holdings are familiar mega-cap technology names: NVIDIA, Tesla, Netflix, Microsoft, Apple, Broadcom, Meta Platforms, Taiwan Semiconductor, Palantir, and Amazon. The notable thing is how flat the weighting is: each of these sits at roughly 3-5%, so no single company dominates the way NVIDIA dominates a chip-only fund. See the top-10 table above for current weights. The top 10 account for roughly a third of the fund, far less concentrated than a semiconductor ETF.

Below the top 10 sit roughly 70 more holdings spanning AI infrastructure, enterprise software, cloud, data, and consumer technology. That long tail is what separates AIQ from a pure chip play: it captures the companies applying AI, not just the ones making the silicon. The trade-off is that a broader basket dilutes the impact of any single AI winner, which is the point of holding a diversified theme fund rather than concentrated single names.

All three give technology exposure, but at different focus and cost. QQQ (0.20%) is the broad option: the 100 largest non-financial Nasdaq companies, a large-cap tech fund that happens to hold the AI leaders but is not built around the theme. AIQ (0.68%) is purpose-built for AI and big data across roughly 80 names. BOTZ (0.68%) is the narrowest of the three, tilted toward robotics and industrial automation rather than software and cloud.

The practical choice is focus versus breadth versus price. QQQ is the cheapest and broadest, a reasonable way to own big tech generally. AIQ is the dedicated broad-AI basket, more thematic than QQQ but more diversified than a chip or robotics fund, at a higher fee. BOTZ is the robotics-specific expression. AIQ tends to fit investors who want a focused but diversified AI tilt and accept the 0.68% cost for that specialization.

AIQ's total return comes almost entirely from price appreciation across its holdings, since the dividend yield is only around 0.2%. Because it is concentrated in AI and large-cap technology, its returns track the fortunes of that theme: it has tended to rise sharply in periods when AI and tech lead the market and fall harder than a broad-market fund when the theme cools. It is more volatile than a diversified core like VOO or VTI.

That is the central thing to understand before buying: AIQ is a thematic bet on AI and big data continuing to drive technology, not a diversified holding. Holding it means accepting concentration in one theme, single-sector swings, and a 0.68% fee, in exchange for focused exposure to the companies building and using AI. AIQ is best judged over full market cycles and against tech and thematic benchmarks rather than against the broad S&P 500.

AIQ suits investors who want diversified exposure to the AI theme in a single ticker, without picking individual winners and without the extreme concentration of a chip-only fund. Its roughly 80 holdings and flat weighting spread the bet across the AI value chain, which can soften the blow if any one name stumbles while still capturing the theme broadly.

Where it falls short: the 0.68% expense ratio is high next to broad funds, it overlaps heavily with QQQ and other tech holdings at the top, and as a thematic fund it carries single-theme risk that a diversified core does not. It also leans toward mega-cap tech, so it is less of a pure-play on emerging AI names than the label might suggest. Walnut isn't an investment adviser and this isn't a recommendation, but in conversation Walnut's AI can show you how much AI and tech exposure you already carry and where AIQ would sit as a thematic satellite.

AIQ trades on Nasdaq during US market hours (9:30am to 4:00pm ET) and is available commission-free at every major broker, including Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Public, M1, and Webull. Fractional shares are supported at most modern brokers, which lets you size a thematic position precisely rather than buying whole shares.

Walnut doesn't replace your broker, it sits on top of it. Connect any major broker and Walnut adds an AI layer that helps you build baskets around AIQ, track how your holdings are doing against your targets, and rebalance when your allocation drifts.

ETFs are passive bundles; thematic baskets in Walnut let you concentrate within them. If you hold AIQ as a core position, these are the themes you might layer on as satellites.

AIQ is a diversified, equal-ish-weighted bet on the companies building and using AI, broader and pricier than a plain S&P 500 fund and more thematic than a Nasdaq fund like QQQ. It fits as a satellite AI allocation sized modestly around a diversified core, rather than as a low-cost core holding itself.

Whether AIQ is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is AIQ a buy?

AIQ yields ~0.2% as of early 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see AIQ dividend: yield and schedule.