What Is BOTZ? Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF

BOTZ is the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF, a concentrated thematic fund of roughly 40 companies tied to industrial robotics, factory automation, and AI hardware. It tracks the Indxx Global Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index, which screens for businesses that make or enable robots and intelligent machines: industrial-arm makers, surgical-robotics firms, automation-software companies, and the chip and sensor suppliers behind them. At a 0.68% expense ratio, it is a narrow, theme-first fund rather than a broad-market core.

The simplest way to understand BOTZ is as the physical-machines expression of the AI theme. Where a broad tech fund like VGT or an AI-software fund like AIQ leans toward big-cap software and platforms, BOTZ leans toward the companies that build real robots and automate factories. That gives it heavy weight in industrial-automation leaders and meaningful exposure outside the US, especially in Japan and Europe, which is unusual for a tech-flavored fund.

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

Because BOTZ is a focused thematic fund, its top holdings tilt toward industrial robotics rather than the familiar US mega-caps. ABB, Keyence, NVIDIA, Fanuc, and Intuitive Surgical lead, mixing factory-automation specialists, a robotics chipmaker, and surgical-robotics, followed by automation-software and sensor names like Dynatrace, UiPath, Samsara, and Zebra Technologies. See the top-10 table above for current weights. The top 10 make up a large share of the fund, so BOTZ is top-heavy by design.

The other holdings round out roughly 40 names across the robotics and automation supply chain, and a large portion of the fund sits outside the US. Japanese automation leaders like Keyence, Fanuc, and Yaskawa carry real weight, alongside European firms like ABB. That international tilt is a defining feature of BOTZ: much of the world's industrial-robotics manufacturing is non-US, so owning the theme means owning those foreign names, with the currency and country exposure that comes with them.

All three target automation and AI, but they are built differently. BOTZ (0.68%) is concentrated, roughly 40 holdings led by a handful of large robotics names. ROBO (the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF, around 0.95%) is broader and more diversified, roughly 80 holdings spread more evenly across smaller companies, at a higher fee. AIQ (the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF) is broader still and tilts toward big-tech software rather than physical robots.

The practical choice is concentration versus breadth and which slice of the theme you want. BOTZ is the cheaper, more focused robotics bet, dominated by industrial-automation leaders. ROBO trades a higher fee for wider, more equal-weighted coverage of the same robotics theme. AIQ is the option for someone who wants AI exposure weighted toward software and platforms instead of machines. None is a substitute for a diversified core; all three are thematic satellites.

BOTZ's total return comes almost entirely from price appreciation across its robotics and automation holdings; the dividend is negligible at roughly 0.1%. Because the fund is concentrated and growth-oriented, its returns tend to swing more than a broad-market fund, rising sharply when automation and AI sentiment is strong and falling harder when it cools. Its largest positions, including its chip and surgical-robotics names, drive much of the movement, so single-stock news can move the whole fund.

That is the central thing to understand before buying: BOTZ is a focused bet on the robotics and automation theme, not a diversified holding. It carries concentration risk, a meaningful non-US weight with its own currency and country exposure, and a 0.68% fee that is high for a fund this narrow. It is best judged over full cycles and against the robotics theme rather than against the broad market, since tracking the S&P 500 is not what it is built to do.

BOTZ suits investors who specifically want robotics, factory automation, and AI hardware exposure that a broad tech fund does not isolate, and who are comfortable with a concentrated, higher-volatility holding. Its real non-US weight also appeals to people who want the global automation supply chain, including the Japanese and European machine makers that a US-only fund leaves out.

Where it falls short: BOTZ is narrow and top-heavy, so a few large names dominate its results, and its 0.68% fee is steep next to broad tech like VGT or QQQ. It overlaps with other tech and AI funds at the top, so pairing it with a big-tech holding can double up on the same chip names. Walnut isn't an investment adviser and this isn't a recommendation, but in conversation Walnut's AI can show you how much robotics and AI exposure you already carry and where a satellite like BOTZ would fit around your core.

BOTZ 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 makes it easy to size BOTZ as a modest thematic satellite rather than a core position.

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 a theme like BOTZ, 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 BOTZ as a core position, these are the themes you might layer on as satellites.

BOTZ is a concentrated, industrial-robotics-tilted way to own the AI and automation theme, with real non-US (Japan, Europe) exposure and a top-heavy structure that makes it more volatile than a broad-market core. At 0.68% it is pricey versus broad tech like VGT or QQQ, and it fits as a thematic satellite sized modestly around a diversified core. ROBO is the broader, more diversified alternative on the same theme.

Whether BOTZ 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 BOTZ a buy?

BOTZ yields ~0.1% 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 BOTZ dividend: yield and schedule.