The artificial intelligence sector continues to demonstrate strong momentum, with key indices and related financial instruments posting notable gains. This upward trend reflects growing investor confidence in the long-term prospects of AI technologies and their foundational components.
Recent Market Performance Highlights
As of June 27, 2025, the CSI Artificial Intelligence Industry Index surged by 1.31%. Among its constituent stocks, several companies led the charge with impressive performances.
- Hebit-Tech (002402) saw its stock price rise by 10%.
- Zhongji Innolight (300308) advanced by 7.04%.
- VeriSilicon Microelectronics (688521) increased by 6.69%.
- Other notable gainers included Xinsheng Electronic (300502) and Dahua Software (002065).
Tracking this index, the Artificial Intelligence ETF (515980) itself climbed 1.18%, marking its fourth consecutive day of gains. Zooming out reveals an even more compelling picture; since its low point on April 9, this ETF has rebounded by over 18%.
Liquidity, Size, and Capital Flows
Market activity for the Artificial Intelligence ETF remains robust. Its intraday turnover rate reached 4.75%, with a trading volume of 170 million yuan. Over the past week, its average daily trading volume has been steady at approximately 151 million yuan.
The fund's size has grown significantly, now standing at 3.565 billion yuan. Furthermore, it has consistently attracted new capital. Over the last ten trading days, it recorded net capital inflows for six of those days, accumulating a total influx of nearly 16 million yuan.
Leveraged funds are also showing increased interest. In the previous trading session, the net financing purchase amount for the ETF was 3.8174 million yuan, bringing its total financing balance to 116 million yuan.
Long-Term Performance Metrics
The long-term performance of the Artificial Intelligence ETF underscores its strength. As of June 26, 2025, its net value has increased by 30.13% over the past year.
Key performance indicators since its inception include:
- A maximum single-month return of 30.38%.
- A longest consecutive monthly gain streak of 3 months.
- The largest gain during a winning streak was 43.97%.
- The average return during positive months is 6.71%.
Understanding the Underlying Index
The Artificial Intelligence ETF is designed to closely track the CSI Artificial Intelligence Industry Index. This index selects 50 of the most representative listed companies that provide foundational resources, technology, and application support for artificial intelligence.
The selection process is based on a comprehensive system that evaluates the proportion of a company's business derived from AI, its growth potential, and its market capitalization. The goal is to accurately reflect the overall performance of companies within the AI industry.
As of May 30, 2025, the top ten holdings of the index were:
- Sugon (603019)
- Cambricon (688256)
- OmniVision (603501)
- Zhongji Innolight (300308)
- iFlytek (002230)
- Xinsheng Electronic (300502)
- Kingsoft Office (688111)
- Montage Technology (688008)
- Inspur Information (000977)
- Unisplendour (000938)
These top ten holdings collectively account for 49.9% of the index's total weight.
Key Market Drivers and Analyst Insights
Several positive developments and analyst reports are fueling optimism in the AI sector, particularly around computing power and co-packaged optics (CPO).
A research report from J.P. Morgan highlights significant growth projections for the CPO market. Industry experts predict that the CPO market will begin substantial growth in 2027. By 2028, the market size is expected to exceed $1 billion and is projected to surpass $5 billion by 2030.
Analysts at CITIC Securities point to systemic-level products from leading computing power companies as a key trend. They suggest that system-level computing power represents the next frontier in AI development. Domestic companies specializing in graphics processing units (GPUs) have an opportunity to catch up with and potentially surpass overseas products by developing computing infrastructure with higher resource density.
Guosen Securities also emphasized the sector's investment value in the current market environment. The strong performance of the North American computing power market is driving sustained growth in demand for AI infrastructure. Key areas of focus include Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), storage modules, and innovation in device-side technology. Furthermore, the continuous iteration of large language models is enhancing the user experience of AI-enabled devices, such as the recent AI glasses released by Meta, which in turn boosts the development of domestic system-on-a-chip (SoC) supply chains.
👉 Explore more investment strategies
The Artificial Intelligence ETF (515980) is well-positioned to capitalize on this period of rapid industrial growth and diversification. For investors seeking exposure to this dynamic sector through off-exchange channels, a corresponding feeder fund is available (Class A: 008020, Class C: 008021). This fund invests in the target ETF to track the index, providing a way to invest in high-growth potential companies within the AI landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CSI Artificial Intelligence Industry Index?
It is an index that tracks the performance of 50 leading Chinese companies involved in providing the foundational resources, technology, and application support for artificial intelligence. Companies are selected based on their AI business proportion, growth level, and market size.
What does CPO stand for and why is it important for AI?
CPO stands for Co-Packaged Optics. It is an advanced technology for integrating optics and electronics on a single package, crucial for developing faster and more efficient data centers. Its importance is growing as AI demands ever-increasing computing power and data transfer speeds with lower energy consumption.
How does an ETF like this differ from investing in individual AI stocks?
An ETF provides immediate diversification across multiple companies in the AI sector. This reduces the risk associated with any single company's performance while still allowing investors to benefit from the overall growth of the industry.
What are some of the core technologies represented in this ETF?
The ETF's holdings encompass companies involved in various AI-enabling technologies, including semiconductors (GPUs, ASICs), cloud computing infrastructure, optical modules (like CPO), data storage, sensors, and AI software applications.
What are the potential risks of investing in an AI-themed ETF?
Like any sector-focused investment, it is subject to volatility based on industry trends, technological disruption, regulatory changes, and broader market conditions. The valuation of tech companies can also be sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.
Is this ETF suitable for long-term investment?
Many analysts believe AI is a transformative, long-term megatrend. An ETF tracking this sector could be considered a long-term growth-oriented investment, but its suitability depends on an individual's investment goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance.