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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
Superpowers for in-person service businesses using AI
13h
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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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.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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28 February
Tech 5: Apple to Invest US$500 Billion in American Facilities, OpenAI Launches GPT-4.5
Market volatility was on full display this week, beginning with a sharp selloff on Monday (February 24) and exacerbated by a rollout of downbeat economic data, including a weak consumer sentiment report.
Those feelings were echoed in the findings of a Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg News, which found that nearly 60 percent of US adults expect higher prices in 2025 if President Donald Trump’s policies are enacted.
Rising US jobless claims and fluctuating Personal Consumption Expenditures price index data on Thursday (February 27), coupled with Friday (February 28) numbers showing US consumer spending fell in January and a tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, intensified economic concerns.
The tech and crypto markets felt the impact of this uncertainty, with Bitcoin ultimately dropping below US$78,400 on Thursday night, over 20 percent lower than its price near US$100,000 seen last week.
All Mag 7 stocks moved down on Tuesday (February 25) after the consumer sentiment report, with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) leading the descent. Its market cap dipped below US$1 trillion after January data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed 45 percent fewer Tesla registrations year-on-year. The carmaker ended the week down 13.24 percent. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) also lost over 10 percent this week.
Amid these fluctuating market dynamics, Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, urged attendees at the Information’s AI Agenda Live conference in San Francisco to be selective when looking for artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities.
“Most investments in AI will lose money, but a few high-return outliers will offset the losses,” he said. “Right now, we’re in the greed cycle of investing because people see the momentum that’s been established in the market caps.”
With that, here's a look at other key events that made tech headlines this week.
1. Spotlight on Cohere and NVIDIA's AI advances
Software startup Cohere is making waves in the international AI market.
A Monday report from the Information reveals that the Canadian AI company, which develops large language models (LLMs), surpassed US$70 million in annualized revenue, a three-fold increase compared to last year.
In July 2024, the company was valued at US$5.5 billion. In January, it launched North, an “all-in-one secure AI workspace platform” that combines LLMs, advanced search and automation tools to help enterprises enable automation and streamline efficiency. Roughly 25 percent of its revenue growth is reportedly from international markets.
Such a drastic increase in revenue may not come as a surprise given Cohere's strong backing by industry heavyweights like Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and NVIDIA. The company’s professional relationships have been instrumental to its growth. Cohere’s Command R model was integrated into NVIDIA's API catalog last year. Cohere has also secured a partnership with CoreWeave to build data centers in Canada, with the financial backing of the Canadian government and hardware supplied by NVIDIA.
NVIDIA itself released its latest quarterly results on Wednesday (February 26), reporting earnings per share of US$0.89, surpassing analysts' estimates of US$0.85. It is projecting revenue of US$43 billion for the coming quarter.
Despite a slight dip in share price the day before its results came out, perhaps driven by potential restrictions on sales of its graphic processing units to China, the market reacted positively to NVIDIA's performance. The company's share price closed at US$131.28 on Wednesday, climbing to US$135.67 in after-hours trading. NVIDIA closed the week at US$124.92 per share, down 8.52 percent from Monday’s opening price.
2. Apple announces US investment and manufacturing plans
Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) started the week by announcing a US$500 billion investment in the US over the course of next four years. The company's commitment includes a new manufacturing academy in Michigan, accelerated research and development efforts and a new 250,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Houston.
“The servers that will soon be assembled in Houston play a key role in powering Apple Intelligence, and are the foundation of Private Cloud Compute, which combines powerful AI processing with the most advanced security architecture ever deployed at scale for AI cloud computing,” the company wrote in a press release.
The center, which the company says will employ 20,000 workers, is slated to begin operations in 2026.
Trump recently revealed Apple’s intention to shift manufacturing from Mexico to the US after a meeting with CEO Tim Cook, preempting the company's official announcement.
“He’s going to start building,” Trump told governors at the White House on February 21. “Very big numbers — you have to speak to him. I assume they’re going to announce it at some point.”
In a separate development, Apple finalized an investment agreement with Indonesia on Thursday, ending a five month deadlock that prevented iPhone 16 sales in the country. The agreement includes the construction of an AirTag manufacturing facility on Batam Island and another plant in Bandung, West Java.
3. OpenAI's GPT-4.5 unveiled alongside BNY Mellon collaboration
BNY Mellon, America’s oldest bank, announced a multi-year partnership with OpenAI on Wednesday.
The agreement will give BNY Mellon access to OpenAI's advanced AI tools, including Deep Research and its most advanced reasoning models. These tools will enhance BNY Mellon’s internal AI platform, Eliza. OpenAI aims to gain valuable insights into the real-world performance of its models for complex tasks through this collaboration.
This focus on advanced reasoning models is a key aspect of OpenAI's broader strategy, even as it explores different facets of AI with its latest release, GPT-4.5, on Thursday. GPT-4.5 is the latest iteration of its language model, ChatGPT.
GPT-4.5 employs “unsupervised learning,” a type of machine learning where algorithms analyze and find patterns in unlabeled data. According to OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, the model exhibits greater emotional intelligence and is less likely to hallucinate than past models. “It is the first model that feels like talking to a thoughtful person to me,” Altman posted on X on Thursday afternoon following a press release. “(I) have had several moments where I've sat back in my chair and been astonished at getting actually good advice from an AI.”
Altman also explained that the model's size and complexity demand substantial computational resources, delaying the release of the "plus" tier until after “tens of thousands of GPUs” are added next week.
In addition, he clarified that GPT-4.5 is not a reasoning model and “won’t crush any benchmarks. (I)t’s a different kind of intelligence and there’s a magic to it (I) haven’t felt before.” In essence, GPT-4.5 represents advancement towards more intuitive AI capable of adaptable, meaningful and natural conversations.
4. CoreWeave eyes US$35 billion valuation in upcoming IPO
Cloud computing provider CoreWeave is reportedly considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the US. The official announcement could come within a week, according to sources for Bloomberg, who said the details of the plan are still being decided. Company representatives did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for a statement.
Bloomberg also reported on rumors of a CoreWeave IPO in November, with sources at the time saying executives had chosen prominent investors Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) to lead. The company secured US$23 billion from Cisco Systems in October 2024.
CoreWeave is now seeking US$4 billion, targeting a valuation of at least US$35 billion.
5. Reports show Meta to build new AI data center
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is reportedly in talks to build a new data center campus to power its ambitious AI projects, valued at approximately US$200 billion. Sources familiar with the matter revealed to the Information that Meta executives are actively exploring potential sites in Louisiana, Wyoming and Texas.
However, a Meta spokesperson refuted these reports, reasserting the company's previously disclosed capital expenditure and data center plans, confirming that those plans have been finalized.
In related news, CNBC reported on Thursday that Meta is preparing to launch a standalone app dedicated to its chatbot, Meta AI. This move would allow users to engage with and use the AI chatbot on a separate platform from the company's other social media and messaging apps.
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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26 February
NVIDIA Earnings: What Investors Need to Know
NVIDIA's (NASDAQ:NVDA) results have once again exceeded analysts' expectations.
Despite bearish sentiment leading up to the release of its earnings, the company delivered strong results for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2025, driven by the surging demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
Quarterly revenue reached US$39.3 billion, a 78 percent increase year-on-year and a 12 percent rise from the previous quarter. Data center revenue soared to US$35.6 billion, up 93 percent from a year ago, highlighting the critical role of NVIDIA's chips in powering the AI revolution. Earnings per diluted share hit US$0.89, surpassing estimates of US$0.85.
NVIDIA projects revenue of US$43 billion for its first fiscal quarter of 2026, indicating continued growth confidence.
While NVIDIA's performance remains impressive, the company faces a dynamic and challenging environment.
The emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI competitor, has raised concerns about over-concentration in AI. Additionally, the timeline for widespread real-world AI applications remains uncertain, and geopolitical tensions, particularly with NVIDIA's ties to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM,TPE:2330), add complexity.
The US government's efforts to restrict NVIDIA's business in China also pose challenges.
Despite these headwinds, NVIDIA continues to push the boundaries of AI innovation.
During the most recent quarter, which ended on January 26, 2025, the company announced its role as a key technology partner for the US$500 billion Stargate Project, unveiled new GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards with AI-enhanced rendering and launched NVIDIA Cosmos, a platform designed to accelerate the development of physical AI.
Partnerships with major cloud providers, as well as leading healthcare institutions and car manufacturers like Hyundai Motor (KRX:005380) and Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM), further demonstrate NVIDIA's commitment to driving AI adoption.
The company closed Wednesday (February 26) up 3.67 percent at US$131.28 and with a market capitalization of US$3.22 trillion. Its share price rose as high as US$135.67 in after-hours trading.
CEO Jensen Huang expressed enthusiasm for the "amazing demand" for NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture, emphasizing its ability to scale AI capabilities and deliver smarter solutions.
NVIDIA's strong quarterly performance and bullish outlook reinforce its position as a leader in the AI space.
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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