Betting on the Backbone: REX Files for AI Chipmaking ETF
Investor demand for AI chip manufacturers has surged this year. The industry is expected to reach revenues of $1.3 trillion in 2026, according to Yahoo Finance, driven by a global AI infrastructure buildout and a bottleneck for AI semiconductors and hardware. REX Shares aims to capture this demand with the firm filing for the REX AI Chipmaking ETF.
Key Takeaways
- REX Shares filed for a new AI Chipmaking ETF to address the massive $1.3 trillion revenue opportunity in the AI infrastructure sector, which is currently facing critical upstream bottlenecks in AI Chip supply.
- The fund tracks the VettaFi AI Chipmaking Index, focusing specifically on companies that provide essential wafer fabrication equipment, advanced packaging, and metrology testing for chip yields.
- The index utilizes a float-modified market capitalization strategy, allocating 50% of its weight to wafer fabrication equipment. The remaining half of portfolio allocations split equally between advanced packaging and metrology.
Constructing the AI Chipmaking Portfolio
The fund tracks the VettaFi AI Chipmaking Index, targeting companies driving the hardware backbone of the AI infrastructure boom, specifically focusing on companies essential to the chip manufacturing process.
The index requires that companies derive more than 50% of their revenues from either wafer fabrication equipment, advanced packaging, or metrology. Wafer fabrication equipment refers to the machinery and related subsystems used to build the foundational silicon used in AI chip manufacturing. Advanced packaging pertains to the semiconductor assembly required for AI infrastructure functionality, while metrology involves the testing and measurement aspect of the AI chip making process for advanced chip yields.
The index uses a float-modified market capitalization weighting methodology within each segment. Half of the index weight allocates to the wafer fabrication equipment segment. The remaining splits equally between advanced packaging and metrology.
For inclusion in the index, the company must have a minimum market capitalization of $1 billion or $800 million for current constituents and a three-month average daily trading value of $1 million. The index rebalances on a quarterly basis, limiting any single holding to a 5% portfolio weight.
Building on Thematic Success
The AI Chip industry has attracted significant investor attention in 2026 with companies such as Micron (MU) and SK Hynix (SKHY) reporting record earnings growth. The fund aims to capture the picks-and-shovels companies that have contributed to this success such as Applied Materials (AMAT), ASML Holding (ASML) and Lam Research (LRCX), which have all played a vital upstream role in the AI chip industry’s success.
The fund would expand REX Shares’ thematic ETF suite, building upon the success of other offerings such as the REX Drone ETF (DRNZ), which provides exposure to the global companies involved in manufacturing software and other technologies powering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones.
“REX has successfully partnered with VettaFi as an index provider in the past. The DRNZ ETF has quickly gathered more than $100M in assets. It offers a unique approach to the defense industry,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi.
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vettafi.com is owned by VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”). VettaFi is the index provider for DRNZ for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, DRNZ is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of DRNZ.
