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You can invest in publicly traded companies with AI businesses or investments, or buy shares of funds that hold public companies with AI exposure. Either way, you own the listed company or fund—not shares in a private AI developer it invests in, supplies, or partners with. This U.S.-oriented guide explains the distinction and how to compare the available routes.
How can I invest in AI without investing in private companies?
Use a brokerage account to buy publicly traded shares or fund units. A stock is an ownership interest in the company that issued it. An ETF share, by contrast, represents an interest in the fund’s portfolio. Neither purchase gives you direct ownership of every business in which that company or fund invests. The SEC explains these basic distinctions in its stock overview and ETF overview.
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Buy shares in a public company
A listed company may develop AI products, sell computing infrastructure used for AI, or invest in a private AI developer. Buying its stock means owning a share of the listed company, whose results also depend on its other businesses, costs, and risks.
Amazon’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, reported $122.3 billion in carrying value for its equity investments in private companies, primarily Anthropic and OpenAI preferred stock. Amazon also disclosed that it invested the remaining $21.3 billion of its OpenAI commitment after quarter-end. These are Amazon’s reported investments and transactions—not a measure of what any Amazon shareholder directly owns in Anthropic or OpenAI. Amazon noted that valuing private-company investments is more complex because readily available market data is lacking. Amazon’s Form 10-Q provides the company’s disclosures.
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Buy shares in a fund
A fund can hold multiple publicly traded companies, including firms with AI-related operations or infrastructure. Its holdings and the degree of AI exposure depend on its index or active strategy and can change. An AI-themed label alone does not tell you how much of the portfolio is invested in AI developers or how narrowly the fund is focused. Check the current holdings and fund documents rather than relying on the name or an old ticker list.
What do AI-themed funds actually invest in?
Fund mandates can encompass much more than AI developers. For example, the April 30, 2026 prospectus for the iShares A.I. Innovation and Tech Active ETF says at least 80% of assets are invested under an aggregate policy covering AI, technology, and technology-related companies. The adviser decides which companies qualify, and “technology-related” may include a broad range of businesses. The prospectus also identifies industry concentration and non-diversified status, and warns investors they could lose some or all of their investment. This is one fund’s mandate, not a description of all AI ETFs or an endorsement. Read the fund prospectus for its strategy and risks.
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A broader-market fund may include large public companies with AI operations, but that does not make it a dedicated AI fund. For any fund, its latest holdings, investment objective, and strategy are more useful than the theme label alone.
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How to compare AI stocks and funds
For a stock, consider what part of the company’s business is tied to AI and what else may drive its results. For a fund, compare its strategy, portfolio, costs, trading characteristics, and risks before deciding whether it fits your goals.
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- Strategy and selection rules: Read the investment objective and how the fund selects holdings. Identify whether it is actively managed or follows an index.
- Holdings and concentration: Check the dated holdings list, issuer and sector weights, and overlap with investments you already own. A fund can hold many companies yet still be concentrated in a few issuers or an industry.
- Costs: Review the expense ratio and other fund costs, as well as any brokerage commissions that apply to trades.
- Trading and price: Check liquidity and the bid-ask spread. An ETF’s market price can be above or below its net asset value (NAV), the value of its underlying portfolio per share.
- Risks and time horizon: Read the strategy and risk disclosures, then consider whether they match your circumstances and tolerance for loss.
The SEC’s guidance explains ETF pricing, premiums and discounts to NAV, and bid-ask spreads. Its ETF investor bulletin and guidance on reading a prospectus can help you assess those details. Fund prospectuses, shareholder reports, issuer websites, and filings on SEC EDGAR disclose strategies, risks, costs, and holdings.
What indirect exposure through a company partnership means
A public company may invest in a private AI developer and also have a commercial relationship with it. The FTC’s January 2025 staff report on Microsoft–OpenAI, Amazon–Anthropic, and Alphabet–Anthropic described arrangements involving equity and revenue-sharing rights, consultation, control or exclusivity provisions in varying degrees, and commitments to spend investment proceeds on cloud services. It also discussed product integration and potential competition concerns, including switching costs and access to sensitive information. The FTC report describes information available through January 2025; partnership terms can evolve.
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For a public shareholder, any possible benefit from a private investment is only one part of the listed company’s financial results and risk. The company’s own operations, costs, accounting, and contract terms matter too. A partnership does not make the public company a proxy for the private AI developer: you own stock in the public company, not the developer’s shares.
How to avoid AI investment scams
AI claims can be used to market unregistered investment platforms, unrealistic automated trading systems, or pump-and-dump schemes. The SEC, NASAA, and FINRA identify promises of guaranteed returns or little to no risk as warning signs. False claims about a public company’s AI work can also be used to drive up its stock price before promoters sell. See the regulators’ AI and investment fraud alert.
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- Be wary of guaranteed gains, claims of little or no risk, and pressure to act immediately.
- Verify that investment professionals and platforms are registered using official regulator resources.
- Check company filings for claims about AI products, investments, or partnerships instead of relying on promotional posts.
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