6 Ways Anyone Can Invest in AI
Artificial Intelligence has consistently been one of the biggest stories in tech.
It’s hard to go more than 3 stories on TechCrunch, 3 products on ProductHunt, or 3 startups on AngelList without coming across this buzzword.
While we can debate when AI is going to take our jobs, the types of problems AI can and can’t solve, or how long it takes for AI to kill us all, one aspect of AI that’s hard to debate is that it’s growing rapidly.
This rapid growth is happening in:
Funding
SenseTime, China’s biggest AI startup just raised $620MM at a $4.5B valuation.
Number of Companies
There has been a 14x increase since 2000.
Jobs
Share of jobs requiring AI skills has increased by 4.5x since 2013.
Need more proof of AI’s growth?
Check out 10 unbelievable charts here: 10 Charts that Will Change Your Perspective on AI
And like anything that’s growing, there is the opportunity to invest and make money.
6 Ways You Can Invest in AI Today
1. Purchase an Artificial Intelligence “Motif” (or build your own) on MotifInvesting.com
Motif Investing is a do-it-yourself builder for theme-based investments. In addition to AI, you can find many different related fields/themes. With Motif, you gain diversification across a wide range of companies, you can build your own Motif the way you want, you can buy/own fractions of stocks, and more.
Join Motif here: Motif Investing
Pros: High level of control over individual investments
Cons: If you build your own “motif”, it requires some research
2. Invest in an AI “Proxy” Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)
While there are very few pure Artificial Intelligence ETFs on the market, there are many well-known “proxys” that include AI investments as part of their portfolio.
For example, BOTZ and ROBT include investments in both AI and Robotics. See a full list of AI Proxy ETFs here.
Pros: Easy to buy (you can use any trading site)
Cons: Higher expense ratios (1–2% per year)
Buy these stocks for free with Robinhood: Sign up Free for Robinhood
3. Buy the Big Software Players in AI
Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba have all made incredibly large investments in AI over the past half decade. While a direct purchase of these company stocks won’t be as diversified as one of the above strategies, you’ll still gain exposure to these big AI bets.
Buy these stocks for free with Robinhood: Sign up Free for Robinhood
Pros: Focus your AI bet on a company you think will win the AI battle
Cons: No diversification
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4. Buy the AI Chipmakers
AI requires an amazing amount of processing capability. There are only a handful of companies that can produce these powerful chips at scale. Nvidia is the market leader right now, but Intel and Micron are interesting investment opportunities in the space as well.
Buy these stocks for free with Robinhood: Sign up Free for Robinhood
Pros: Bet on the hardware that is essential for the software
Cons: (Likely) lower growth opportunity as hardware can’t scale as quickly as software
5. Invest in Yourself!
Bet you didn’t expect this one.
But, if AI continues to grow anywhere near the rate it has over the past few years, it will be an essential skill for many careers. Additionally, AI jobs command impressive salaries because there simply isn’t enough talent.
Take a free online course!
Pros: You control (almost) all of the variables
Cons: It takes time and effort to learn
6. Join an AI Startup
AngelList currently lists 4,656 Artificial Intelligence startups with over 3k jobs. Chances are that there is one near you! Or, limit your risk, and join one of the blue-chip companies mentioned above that’s betting big on AI.
Pros: Learn about and invest in AI from the inside
Cons: Career “security”
How else have you invested in the growth of AI?
Share with me here or on Twitter at @amitch5903
More from Alex Mitchell on Medium
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