
March 20, 2025
Decidr AI Industries Ltd (ASX: DAI) (“the Company”), is pleased to announce that Decidr.ai Pty Ltd (“Decidr”) has engaged in a multi-part strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) to accelerate AI-powered business transformation and the adoption of Decidr Agentic technology.
AWS will serve as Decidr’s core cloud infrastructure provider, enabling seamless AI Agent deployment, data intelligence, and process automation for businesses worldwide. This partnership will also introduce Decidr’s AI Business Operating System to the AWS Marketplace, making it easier for businesses to adopt AI solutions that drive operational efficiency.
Decidr is also pleased to announce alongside this strategic partnership, it is undertaking an equity raising by way of a non-underwritten A$10m Placement of approximately 13.2 million new fully paid ordinary shares in Decidr (“Equity Raise”) to support ongoing growth.
Highlights
- Decidr partners with AWS, designating AWS as its core cloud provider to accelerate AI-driven business transformation.
- Decidr to launch on AWS Marketplace, expanding accessibility for businesses seeking AI-powered automation with collaboration on go-to-market activities.
- Decidr selected for AWS APJ FasTrack Academy, an invite-only accelerator program designed to fast-track AWS Partners’ integration and co-sell readiness.
- Integration of AWS’s latest AI advancements into Decidr Agentic Software, including selected components of Amazon Nova, to enhance Decidr’s core AI capabilities and offer to customers.
- Launch of Decidr + AWS Startups Venture Studio, providing funding and AWS Activate Credits to help in the development of AI-first businesses.
- ~A$10m non-underwritten placement to support ongoing growth
- Proceeds from the Equity Raise will be used to find working capital to expand existing customer base and scale contracts, growth capital to acquire new partners and expand into the US, and to invest in technology.
Decidr and AWS Partnership
Following an extensive selection process, Decidr has appointed AWS as the company's core cloud infrastructure provider, enabling seamless AI deployment, data intelligence, and process automation for its core systems.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally to over 5 million businesses.
This partnership will also introduce custom Decidr + AWS cloud and LLM configurations using Amazon Nova for customers on Decidr’s Agentic Onboarding Studio. This specialised configuration will be available on the AWS Marketplace, making it easier for companies to adopt Agentic solutions.
Key Components of the Partnership
1. AWS as Decidr’s Global Cloud Provider: Enabling AI-driven business intelligence, automation, and data processing at scale.
2. Partnership to create a federated cloud and LLM setup for businesses using Decidr, offering the scale, flexibility and security of AWS with new Agentic agent development tools from Decidr.
3. Enhancements Using AWS LLM Technologies: Decidr will leverage elements of Amazon Nova to enhance specific AI-driven business solutions, including direct to customer and partner Agentic Agent deployments.
4. AWS Marketplace Launch and coordinated Go-to-Market motions: Decidr’s solutions will be available on the AWS Marketplace, simplifying adoption for businesses worldwide. Both parties will collaborate on events, case-studies and other promotional activities.
5. Decidr + AWS Startups Venture Studio: A joint initiative providing AI-native businesses with Decidr grant funding, AWS Activate Credits, and mentorship to scale their AI-first businesses.
David Brudenell, Executive Chairman of Decidr, commented:
“Our mission is to simplify AI adoption and help businesses scale with intelligence-driven automation. Partnering with AWS allows us to bring this vision to life at an unprecedented scale. Through the AWS Marketplace and our AI Startups Venture Studio, we are enabling companies to access AI-powered solutions and accelerate their transformation.”
Decidr Accepted into AWS APJ FasTrack Academy
Decidr has also been selected to participate in the AWS APJ FasTrack Academy, an invite- only global accelerator program designed to help AWS Partners fast-track integration, co- sell readiness, and enterprise expansion. This prestigious program provides direct support from AWS technical teams, priority onboarding to AWS Marketplace, and inclusion in AWS’s Co-Sell and Partner Programs, significantly enhancing Decidr’s ability to scale and engage with enterprise and SME customers.
Key Benefits of the Program:
- Expedited Growth Path: Accelerated onboarding to AWS’s partner ecosystem.
- Enhanced Support & Guidance: Structured curriculum, live enablement sessions, and access to AWS technical expertise.
- AWS Marketplace Optimisation: Streamlined onboarding to ensure maximum discoverability and engagement.
- Go-to-Market Readiness: Hands-on support to integrate Decidr’s AI solutions into AWS’s co-sell and partner programs.
Past FasTrack Academy AWS accelerator participants such as Leonardo AI, Perplexity AI, Hugging Face, and Stability AI have successfully scaled their AI solutions globally with AWS, and Decidr’s inclusion in the program will significantly assist in scaling its technology and Agentic business solutions globally.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Decidr AI Industries, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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19 March
Major Trial Completed with Multinational Retailer
18 March
RocketBoots: Superpowers for In-person Service Businesses Using AI
RocketBoots (ASX:ROC) presents a compelling high-growth investment opportunity with its AI-driven, scalable SaaS model, targeting a $2.4 billion+ market across retail and banking. Backed by strong enterprise adoption, a robust pipeline of customer sites, and a track record of delivering proven cost-saving solutions, ROC is primed for global expansion and sustained recurring revenue growth.
Since its inception in 2004 as an internet application consultancy, RocketBoots has evolved into a leader in AI-powered software, helping businesses enhance operations and elevate customer experiences. The company delivers proprietary solutions that drive measurable impact. Its technology addresses key business challenges—reducing operational costs, preventing self-checkout losses and staff fraud—while simultaneously improving service quality, increasing sales, and strengthening customer loyalty.
RocketBoots offers a unique, all-in-one software platform for loss prevention, workforce management, and customer experience optimization. Its advanced technology empowers retailers to detect potential theft and identify staff fraud at registers.
Company Highlights
- Mission: RocketBoots empowers global retail and banking giants to slash operating expenses and losses while boosting service, sales and customer loyalty.
- Proven Tech: Validated internationally by top retailers and banks, RocketBoots’ AI-powered software delivers a strong ROI and fuels long-term customer retention. Demand is proven.
- The Advantage: The company’s flagship platform uniquely unifies loss prevention, workforce management, and customer experience — a game-changer for integrated store and branch operations.
- Expert team: Led by seasoned executives and AI specialists, RocketBoots has a strong track record of delivering its cutting-edge computer vision and machine learning software internationally.
- Scale Without Limits: The company’s hybrid cloud/on-prem architecture enables rapid scaling across thousands of locations without massive infrastructure investment or staffing increases.
- Explosive Growth Potential: With a more than 35,000-site global enterprise pipeline and nine international trials already completed or nearing completion (including multinational retailers), RocketBoots is primed for global expansion.
- Massive Market: The more than $2.4 billion addressable market (just retail grocery and branch banking in current territories) is only the beginning. The company is eyeing adjacent sectors, new geographies, and expanding its software portfolio.
This RocketBoots profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*
Click here to connect with RocketBoots (ASX:ROC) to receive an Investor Presentation
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17 March
RocketBoots
Investor Insight
RocketBoots is a high-growth investment opportunity with an AI-based scalable SaaS model, targeting a $2.4 billion+ market in retail and banking. With strong enterprise adoption, a significant customer site pipeline, and proven cost-saving solutions, ROC is well-positioned for global expansion and recurring revenue growth.
Overview
RocketBoots (ASX:ROC), an Australian innovator in AI-driven computer vision software products, is transforming the retail and financial services landscape. Evolving from its 2004 inception as an internet application consultancy, RocketBoots now stands at the forefront of AI-powered software, empowering businesses to optimize operations and elevate customer experiences.
RocketBoots' proprietary solutions leverage the combined power of machine learning, advanced analytics and cloud computing to deliver tangible results. The company’s technology tackles critical challenges, slashing operational costs, mitigating self-checkout losses and staff fraud, while simultaneously boosting service, sales and customer loyalty.
Real-world Impact, Proven Results
Deployed across major banks, large retail chains, and trialing with multinational enterprises, RocketBoots' impact is undeniable. Four contracted customers on multi-year terms, coupled with a growing pipeline of trials and opportunities, demonstrate the company's ability to deliver significant value.
$2.4 Billion+ Market Opportunity
Operating in a high-growth sector, RocketBoots targets a total addressable market (TAM) exceeding $2.4 billion across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the European Union and North America. Its cloud-based platform enables seamless scalability, managing software deployments across global locations from its Sydney headquarters. RocketBoots utilizes a recurring revenue SaaS model, following a one-time activation fee, ensuring predictable and sustainable growth. Future expansion into new geographies and software portfolio additions promises further TAM growth.
Poised for Explosive Growth
With a global enterprise pipeline of over 35,000 retail and banking locations, RocketBoots is primed for significant expansion. The company is aggressively pursuing international growth, with the potential to secure contracts for over 10,000 sites from its existing nine customers who are already engaged in paid contracts, trials or evaluations for major/multi-year agreements.
Leadership and Innovation
RocketBoots is led by seasoned executives with deep expertise in AI, technology commercialization and financial markets. The company’s unwavering commitment to innovation, data security and enterprise-grade scalability mitigates key risks associated with new technology adoption.
Company Highlights
- Mission: RocketBoots empowers global retail and banking giants to slash operating expenses and losses while boosting service, sales and customer loyalty.
- Proven Tech: Validated internationally by top retailers and banks, RocketBoots’ AI-powered software delivers a strong ROI and fuels long-term customer retention. Demand is proven.
- The Advantage: The company’s flagship platform uniquely unifies loss prevention, workforce management, and customer experience — a game-changer for integrated store and branch operations.
- Expert team: Led by seasoned executives and AI specialists, RocketBoots has a strong track record of delivering its cutting-edge computer vision and machine learning software internationally.
- Scale Without Limits: The company’s hybrid cloud/on-prem architecture enables rapid scaling across thousands of locations without massive infrastructure investment or staffing increases.
- Explosive Growth Potential: With a more than 35,000-site global enterprise pipeline and nine international trials already completed or nearing completion (including multinational retailers), RocketBoots is primed for global expansion.
- Massive Market: The more than $2.4 billion addressable market (just retail grocery and branch banking in current territories) is only the beginning. The company is eyeing adjacent sectors, new geographies, and expanding its software portfolio.
Key Technology
RocketBoots provides a unique unified loss prevention, workforce management and customer experience software platform.
The company’s technology enables retailers to:
- Automatically detect potential theft at self-checkouts
- Automatically detect staff fraud at registers e.g. sweethearting
- Revolutionise workforce planning:
- Lower cost staffing with no service impact
- Improved service to reduce queue abandonment & lost sales
Rocketboots also enables retail banks to:
- Revolutionise omni channel workforce planning:
- Lower cost staffing with no service impact
- Improved service to reduce abandonment and lost sales
- Speed up digital channel customer response times by unlocking hybrid working opportunities through precise scheduling of branch staff latent capacity and idle time
- Computer vision – Analyzes live and recorded video feeds to detect, track and interpret human behavior, vehicle movement and in-store activity.
- A hybrid, highly scalable cloud/on-prem architecture that enables secure, remotely managed deployment across customer sites all over the world.
- Out-of-the-box user interfaces that show:
- SCO theft risk alerts
- Fraud risk alerts
- Real-time and historical service and workforce related analysis
- Future staff scheduling and rosters
- Edge computing – Reduces cloud bandwidth costs and enhances data security by processing video on-site while only syncing key insights to the cloud.
- APIs – Enables integration with enterprise systems such as POS (point-of-sale), workforce management and CRM (customer relationship management) platforms.
- Enterprise-grade security and compliance – Regularly penetration-tested and aligned with the security requirements of global banks and retailers.
Retail Applications
Reduce loss and staff costs whilst simultaneously improving customer experience and productivity.
Banking Applications
RocketBoots enables banks to materially reduce operational expenses whilst simultaneously improving customer experience, loyalty & NPS.
Leadership Team
Joel Rappolt – Chief Executive Officer
An experienced technology entrepreneur, Joel Rappolt joined RocketBoots in 2007 and has been CEO since 2013. He has led the company's transition from delivering app development services into developing software products that leverage machine learning, computer vision and IoT to solve longstanding business problems.
Robin Hilliard – Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Robin Hilliard founded RocketBoots in 2004 and has guided its evolution into a focus on computer vision research and software products. With over four decades of experience in software development, he has been the CTO since 2013.
Roy Mckelvie – Independent Chair and Non-executive Director
Roy Mckelvie is the chairman of Encompass Corporation, Wagesafe Limited and Infocus Wealth Management. He is the former CEO of Transfield Holdings and Gresham Private Equity, and previous managing director and Asian head of Deutsche Bank Capital Partners in Hong Kong .
Aaron Seeto – Chief Financial Officer
Aaron Seeto has more than 13 years of experience as an outsourced CFO for private and public companies across various industries, including technology, legal and financial services, and hospitality.
Karl Medak – Non-executive Director
Karl Medak has nearly 40 years of experience in the information and communications technology sector, having worked with organizations such as Telstra, Ericsson Australia and Lend Lease Communications. He co-founded The Frame Group in 2000 and has been a non-executive director of RocketBoots since 2007.
Cameron Petricevic – Company Secretary and Non-executive Director
Cameron Petricevic has more than 17 years of experience in the financial industry, with roles at AXA Asia Pacific Holdings and Acorn Capital. He is a partner at Kentgrove Equity Partners and has extensive experience in valuations, mergers & acquisitions and portfolio management.Keep reading...Show less
14 March
Tech 5: CoreWeave Inks US$11.9 Billion OpenAI Deal, Intel Gets New CEO
This week brought a rollercoaster ride for the stock market
A dramatic Monday (March 10) selloff hit mega-cap tech stocks hard, and was followed by a correction in the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) on Tuesday (March 11). Friday (March 14) witnessed a partial recovery fueled by a week of positive economic data; however, lingering uncertainties about global conflicts and potential tariffs kept overall gains in check.
The latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, released on Friday, reveals a 10.5 percent decrease in consumer confidence in March, reflecting a broader 27.1 percent decrease for the year.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) led the retreat on Monday with a significant 12.25 percent drop by the closing bell. The decline came as CEO Elon Musk continued to cause controversy over his actions at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Protests this week included calls for a boycott of the company’s electric vehicles. After news hit that Tesla plans to make a lower-cost version of its Model Y in Shanghai, shares rose 3.9 percent to end the week at US$249.98.
Here's a look at other key events that made tech headlines this week.
1. CoreWeave continues expansion with OpenAI deal
Insider told Reuters on Monday that AI startup CoreWeave has signed a five year contract worth US$11.9 billion with OpenAI to provide cloud computing services in exchange for a stake in CoreWeave worth approximately US$350 million.
CoreWeave will issue the shares through a private placement at the time of its initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to take place sometime in March. Investor interest in CoreWeave has grown since the company filed for an IPO on March 3. Investment research platform Sacra reveals a 730 percent increase in revenue between 2023 and 2024, and the company is projecting further revenue growth of over 320 percent to US$8 billion in 2025.
Multiple outlets have reported that the company is seeking to raise US$4 billion, targeting a valuation of US$35 billion. CoreWeave has also recently acquired the machine learning platform Weights & Biases.
However, the filing also revealed substantial debt and losses, and analysts have warned that CoreWeave’s multibillion-dollar partnership with its primary customer, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and, to a lesser extent, its reliance on chips from NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), represent concentration risks. Analysts for Fitch Solutions believe that the agreement with OpenAI will alleviate some of those concerns.
2. Oracle stumbles after earnings report
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) delivered its latest quarterly results on Monday, showing a mixed financial performance.
The company’s cloud infrastructure saw healthy growth thanks to demand for computing power, surging by 49 percent to US$2.7 billion. Meanwhile, its cloud services revenue reached US$11.01 billion, a 10 percent increase from the previous year; this segment accounted for 78 percent of Oracle's total sales.
“We are on schedule to double our data center capacity this calendar year,” said Chair Larry Ellison.
Oracle's total revenue and net income both saw substantial growth, reaching US$14.1 billion and US$2.9 billion, with annual increases of 6 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
However, the results did not quite meet investor forecasts, which anticipated US$14.39 billion in revenue. Earnings per share (EPS) also came up short at US$1.47 versus the expected US$1.49.
According to CNBC, Oracle CEO Safra Catz said during an earnings call that the US$48 billion in new contracts from this period has brought the company's remaining performance obligations to over US$130 billion, a 62 percent increase from last year. Notably, this figure doesn’t include contracts related to the Stargate venture announced earlier this year with SoftBank Group (TSE:9984) and OpenAI.
Looking ahead, Oracle expects EPS to be between US$1.61 and US$1.65, a notable difference from the forecast US$1.79. Catz also said that Oracle expects to double its capital expenditure to US$16 billion this year.
Despite these shortfalls, Oracle's board of directors announced a 25 percent increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend to US$0.50 per share. The Information reported this week that the company is also the leading contender for helping run TikTok operations in the US.
3. Intel names new CEO
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (NYSE:TSM) approached NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) (NASDAQ:AMD) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) to propose a joint venture to operate Intel's (NASDAQ:INTC) factories, according to a report from Reuters on Wednesday (March 12).
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) was also approached in a separate discussion.
According to insiders familiar with the matter, the proposal would involve TSMC running operations at Intel's chip-making (foundry) division while holding a stake of less than 50 percent.
The news sent shares of Intel 7 percent higher on Wednesday from its previous closing price.
The company has faced scrutiny from shareholders over its lagging chip business, and its share price has lost over 43 percent of its value compared to a year ago. Intel gained another 10 percent after hours on Wednesday, when the company named Lip-Bu Tan, a former board member, as its new CEO. In a letter to shareholders, Tan signaled that he intends to improve Intel’s chip foundry and did not address the report regarding TSMC.
After a rough several months, Intel ended the week up 18.82 percent.
4. Google powers humanoid robot
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) expanded its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by announcing two new Gemini Robotics models on Wednesday, along with an update to its large language model, Gemma 3.
Google's AI research subsidiary, DeepMind, integrated its AI model, Gemini 2.0, with humanoid robots developed by Texas-based robotics company Apptronik. The two enterprises formed a partnership agreement to accelerate advancement in AI-powered humanoid robots in December 2024.
Apptronik was founded in 2016 and has developed 15 robotic systems, including NASA’s Valkyrie, which was built to help astronauts explore the Moon or Mars. The company’s flagship robot, Apollo, was designed as a general-purpose robotic assistant for a range of sectors, including aerospace and logistics, as well as retail and hospitality.
The robot made its debut in 2023. In March 2024, it partnered with Mercedes-Benz Group (OTC Pink:MBGAF,ETR:MBG) on a pilot program to test the robot in Mercedes' manufacturing facilities.
Earlier this year, Apptronik secured US$350 million in a Series A funding round co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with Google also participating in the round.
On Thursday (March 13), Google launched an experimental capability to its chatbot, Gemini, giving users the option to connect Gemini to their search history and other apps for more personalized responses. Powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model, the new feature is simply called Gemini with personalization.
“Early testers have found Gemini with personalization helpful for brainstorming and getting personalized recommendations,” said Dave Citron, senior director of product management for Gemini.
5. Cohere launches efficient, low-cost LLM
Canadian AI company Cohere revealed its newest large language model (LLM), Command A, a tool designed to help businesses handle complex tasks like coding by efficiently processing large data sets
“Command A is on par or better than GPT-4o and DeepSeek-V3 across agentic enterprise tasks — tasks where the LLM can act somewhat independently to complete a business goal — with significantly greater efficiency," the firm said.
What’s more, Cohere said it spent less than US$30 million to build the model, which can run on just two graphics processing units (GPUs). This is a stark contrast to the tens of thousands of GPUs used by other LLMs, demonstrating Cohere's ability to achieve high performance with significantly optimized resource utilization.
In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst said the company achieved such amazing efficiency by focusing on fulfilling the needs of its customer base rather than pursuing the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), AI systems that surpass human intelligence.
“We’re training it to be good at the things that our customers want,” he explained. “By being focused on that, we’ve been able to be significantly more efficient than the other players.
“The people who are saying AI is getting bigger and bigger are the people constantly saying they’re around the corner from AGI. That’s not our focus, nor is that my scientific belief.”
Cohere has attracted investment from a range of well-known venture capital firms, including Radical Ventures, SalesForce Ventures and Cisco Investments. It is also backed by prominent players in the AI sector, including Oracle, NVIDIA, AMD and SAP (NYSE:SAP), indicating strong confidence in its potential.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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07 March
Tech 5: CoreWeave Plans US$4 Billion IPO, Trump Threatens CHIPS Act
Tech stocks were active this week, impacted by a broader market correction, key announcements and funding rounds.
Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) introduction of AI Mode, a powerful new search tool for complex, multi-part questions, as well as Shield’s estimated US$5.3 billion valuation after securing US$240 million in a new funding round offer a snapshot of the rapid innovation and investor interest driving the tech landscape right now.
With that, here's a look at other key events that made tech headlines this week.
1. CoreWeave plans IPO, faces Microsoft contract concerns
CoreWeave filed for a New York initial public offering (IPO) on Monday, seeking to raise US$4 billion and an expected valuation of more than US$35 billion.
On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) pulled out of some of its agreements with CoreWeave. Anonymous sources didn’t give details as to why the startup’s biggest customer cancelled some contracts but alluded to Microsoft’s reduced confidence in CoreWeave after the company allegedly missed deadlines and ran into other delivery issues.
CoreWeave generates over 60 percent of its revenue from Microsoft, to which it supplies computing power from its data centers for running large-scale AI models, including OpenAI's ChatGPT.
This multi-billion-dollar partnership represents a concentration risk. In its filing, CoreWeave stated that its business, operating results, financial condition and/or prospects could be negatively impacted by changes in its overall strategic relationship with Microsoft, including changes in demand and contractual agreements. Contracts between the two companies reportedly have Microsoft set to spend more than US$10 billion on CoreWeave services by 2030.
CoreWeave's IPO filing revealed a US$1.9 billion revenue for 2024, alongside substantial debt and net losses. The company has raised US$14.5 billion through debt and equity financing, including US$11 billion in asset-backed loans. This aggressive expansion has led to escalating net losses, which reached US$863 million in 2024, up from US$594 million in 2023 and US$31 million in 2022.
The company’s reliance on chip supplier Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) also poses supply chain risks, particularly concerning potential delays with Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs.
After publication, CoreWeave delivered a statement to Data Center Dynamics, clarifying “there have been no contract cancellations or walking away from commitments. Any claim to the contrary is false and misleading.”
In a strategic move to further solidify its position in the AI space, on Tuesday, CoreWeave announced that it would acquire AI development startup Weights and Biases. The press release did not say how much the deal was worth, but unnamed sources for The Information said the deal could be valued at around US$1.7 billion.
2. TSMC fluctuates amid investment and political concerns
An interplay of factors, including geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, contributed to fluctuating TSMC’s (NYSE:TSM) share prices this week, both in the US and Taiwanese markets.
US shares were down at the start of the week due to concerns of economic upheaval and a potential trade war with China. Its Taiwanese shares fell after the company announced a US$100 billion investment in US chip production, including three new manufacturing plants, two packaging facilities and a research and development center.
Trump’s intention to end the US$52 billion CHIPS Act, which he expressed during his Tuesday evening Congressional Address, added to investor concerns. The CHIPS Act, an initiative from the Biden administration, has pledged funding to TSMC as well as fellow benefactors Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Samsung (KS:5930) and Micron (NASDAQ:MU) to fund sizeable infrastructure projects. Intel received the largest portion, a US$7.9 billion grant to support commercial factories and another US$3 billion to produce military chips. TSMC is set to receive US$11.6 billion in direct funding and loans.
TSMC’s CEO, C.C. Wei, held a press conference on Thursday to address concerns from Taiwanese critics of the planned US investment who worry that moving advanced manufacturing will lessen US incentive to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. The country’s Chinese Nationalist Party, the KMT, said the investment was a threat to national security.
Wei defended the move, stating it was a response to increased customer demand for AI chips. In a separate statement, Taiwan’s Economics Minister said that TSMC’s most advanced processes would stay in Taiwan until at least 2026.
He did not confirm whether Trump had guaranteed the continuation of CHIPS Act subsidies in light of the new investment pledge but said that the company could proceed without them, emphasizing the desire for fairness.
3. NVIDIA chips to power OpenAI and Oracle's Stargate data center expansion
A source for Bloomberg said that OpenAI and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) are preparing to add 64,000 of NVIDIA's GB200 semiconductors to a new data center being built in Abilene, Texas, the first of the US$100 billion Stargate project announced by the Trump administration in January.
According to the report, the chips will be added to the center in phases, with an initial 16,000 chips set to be completed by this summer and the entire project complete by 2026.
4. Tech stocks share mixed earnings results
This week also saw a mix of earnings reports from major tech companies:
- CrowdStrike’s (NASDAQ:CRWD)Q4 earnings report released on Tuesday showed revenue of US$1.06 billion, beating expectations; however, its earnings guidance for the year of roughly US$3.39 per share fell short of the expected US$4.42. Shareholders reacted to the mixed results by sending the stock down to open 7.29 percent lower on Wednesday morning, and the cybersecurity company ended the week down 16.42 percent.
- Marvell’s (NASDAQ:MRVL)Q4 earning report slumped nearly 20 percent after the chipmaker’s outlook for the current quarter failed to meet expectations on Wednesday. The news weighed on investors already spooked by the threat of a potential trade war mid-week and extended to chipmakers Broadcom and Nvidia, pulling down the broader chip index. Marvell finished the week down over 23 percent.
- On Thursday, Broadcom’s (NASDAQ:AVGO)Q1 earnings report was more upbeat, revealing a 77 percent annual increase in AI server revenue to US$4.1 billion. The company’s stock went up nearly 13 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday afternoon but finished the week down by 4.29 percent after losses earlier in the week.
5. Shift to practical AI continues with agents, specialized applications
Key developments this week signaled a continuing shift toward AI agent expansion across both commercial and government sectors.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported on a new division from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services (AWS) dedicated to AI agents, indicating a strategic focus on automated task solutions for cloud computing clients. The plans were officially announced by Amazon Vice President of AI and Data Swami Sivasubramanian via a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.
“This new capability – powered by Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Anthropic's most intelligent model to date – allows developers to have more collaborative, interactive conversations with Q Developer that works with them, asks them feedback and makes iterative changes as they go along,” Sivasubramanian wrote.
Later, during a public interview at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) chief product officer Chris Cox said the company’s upcoming Llama 4 model will have reasoning capabilities powerful enough to create AI agents capable of using a web browser and other tools.
He described how more advanced AI agents can be built on a foundation of embeddings, enabling them to complete specific business-related tasks like filing receipts. These comments follow a previous CNBC report of Meta’s plans to debut a stand-alone AI app sometime during the second quarter and echo similar statements made to CNBC’s Julia Boorston by Clara Shih, Meta’s head of business AI.
“We’re quickly coming to a place where every business, from the very large to the very small, they’re going to have a business agent representing it and acting on its behalf, in its voice — the way that businesses today have websites and email addresses,” Shih said, explaining that Meta is working to develop business AIs for smaller businesses who may not be able to hire large AI teams.
Adding to this trend, OpenAI is reportedly planning to introduce tiered subscriptions for specialized AI agents, with prices ranging from US$2,000 to US$20,000 per month to reflect varying levels of capabilities.
Also, the US Department of Defense has begun integrating AI agents through collaborations with Scale AI, Microsoft, and Anduril for military operations, including simulation and decision support.
These moves signal rapid growth in the adoption of AI agents, marking a shift toward practical AI implementation and coincide with broader market shifts showing increased investment in AI applications, as noted in recent financial reporting from Bloomberg’s Kate Clark. This reflects a wider movement beyond foundational AI models, focused on delivering specialized, user-focused AI tools and services, whether through autonomous agents or dedicated applications.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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05 March
5 Biggest AI ETFs in 2025
For investors who want to gain exposure to artificial intelligence stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a popular avenue, because AI ETFs allow investors exposure to the overall market rather than individual AI stocks.
AI investing has exploded in popularity in recent years, with many major tech stocks focusing on developing their AI capabilities.
However, the sector has a long history. The phrase "artificial intelligence" has been around since 1955, when it was used to describe a new computer science subdiscipline. Today we use AI to describe simulated intelligence in machines. In other words, machines with AI are capable of simulating thinking like people and mimicking their actions.
As applications for AI rapidly expand, it's clear that this market isn't going away anytime soon.
Research conducted by
Markets and Markets suggests the AI industry will be worth over US$1.34 trillion by 2030, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 35.7 percent between 2024 and 2030. With that much money going into the sector, there is certainly no shortage of ways for investors to add AI investments to their portfolios.
Here the Investing News Network looks at five AI ETFs to invest in, based on the largest listed on ETFdb.com. All data on assets under management, holdings and expense ratios for each ETF were current as of February 27, 2025.
According to ETFdb.com, the AI ETFs on its list are required to meet one of three criteria:
- Focus on stocks developing new products, services or technological improvements in AI-related research.
- Have 25 percent portfolio exposure to companies that spend money on AI research and development.
- Choose individual securities to be included in the fund based on their use of AI methods.
1. Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (NASDAQ:AIQ)
Assets under management: US$3.31 billion
First on the list is the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF. Established in May 2018, it tracks the performance of the Indxx Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Index. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.68 percent.
"AIQ is passively managed to invest in developed market companies that are involved in the use of artificial intelligence to analyze big data, whether for their own operations, as a service to other companies, or through the production of related hardware," according to ETF.com.
The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF's 171 holdings include Tencent Holdings (OTC Pink:TCEHY,HKEX:0700) and Alibaba Alibaba (NYSE:BABA).
2. Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic ETF (NASDAQ:BOTZ)
Assets under management: US$2.88 billion
The Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic ETF exposure to firms involved in the global automation and robotics industries. According to ETF.com, the fund was launched in September 2016 and has holdings in various markets, including technology, healthcare and energy. Eligible companies must earn a significant portion of their revenue from or have a stated business purpose in the fields of robotics or AI.
The Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic ETF currently tracks 92 holdings, including Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA). The fund has an expense ratio of 0.68 percent.
3. Defiance Quantum ETF (NASDAQ:QTUM)
Assets under management: US$1.17 billion
The Defiance Quantum ETF launched in September 2018. It tracks an index composed of 144 companies that derive at least half of their annual revenues from quantum computing and machine learning technology development activities.
The fund has the lowest expense ratio of the five AI funds on this list at 0.4 percent.
Some of the ETF's top holdings include Alibaba and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS).
4. First Trust NASDAQ Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF (NASDAQ:ROBT)
Assets under management: US$494 million
The First Trust NASDAQ Artificial Intelligence and Robotics ETF was launched in February 2018. It follows a modified equal-weighted index of all-cap global companies involved in AI or robotics.
The ETF currently tracks 102 companies, and two of its top holdings are Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META). The fund has an expense ratio of 0.65 percent.
5. Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (ARCA:IGPT)
Assets under management: US$459 million
The last AI ETF on this list is the Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF. It is the longest running compared to the others, having launched in June 2005. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.58 percent.
It is based on the STOXX World AC NexGen Software Development Index and tracks the performance of companies that derive a direct revenue from technologies or products that contribute to future software development. The Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF's 101 holdings include Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM).
This is an updated version of an article originally published by the Investing News Network in 2017.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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