Key insights
- The article discusses the burgeoning potential of humanoid robots as a significant AI advancement, citing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's strong conviction in their future. While no company currently generates substantial revenue from humanoid robots, the sector is attracting significant investment. The piece suggests that investing in a humanoid robot ETF could be a prudent strategy for investors looking to capitalize on this emerging technology, spreading risk across multiple companies involved in development and manufacturing.
Humanoid robots -- along with fully driverless vehicles -- are widely viewed among artificial intelligence (AI) experts as one of the Next Big Things in AI. Once limited to science fiction media, they are now being rapidly developed. Humanoids are AI-powered machines that resemble the human form and move and communicate similarly to humans.
Artificial intelligence-driven applications are improving at lightning speed. Indeed, Nvidia (NVDA 1.00%) CEO Jensen Huang is a huge believer that the humanoid robot boom is coming.
In January 2025, during CES 2025, Huang opined that, in "less than 10 years," he was "certain" that humanoid robots would surprise everyone with how good they would be. With big money pouring into humanoid development, I think the timeline could be shorter for humanoids performing repetitive manual labor within a specified area, such as a factory.
In October 2025, I wrote The Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy or Put on Your Watch List. I highlighted Nvidia (which has ramped up its humanoid robot development platform since 2024), Tesla (developing Optimus), Hyundai Motor Group (owns an 80% stake in mobile robot maker Boston Dynamics), and Hon Hai Precision (known as Foxconn), which is partnering with Nvidia to build a plant in Texas that will build AI supercomputers and eventually deploy humanoid robots.
This Card Just Received a Rare 5-Star Rating
Our team of credit card pros don’t just recommend this card—they actually use it. Motley Fool Money calls it a top pick for a reason.
But at this early stage, no publicly traded company seems to be generating significant revenue from the sale of humanoid robots or components used to make them. So, investors might want to spread their bets, so to speak, by investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on humanoid robots. While there will be some losers, the diversity of ETFs means there will likely be some big winners, too.
(Note: The name shown in the chart below is the ETF's former name.)
When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor’s total average return is 978%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500.
They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor.
KraneShares Global Humanoid Robotics and Physical AI Index ETF (KOID 1.09%) was the first ETF focused on humanoid robotics and physical AI, rather than on robotics as a whole. It began trading on the Nasdaq exchange on June 4, 2025. To my knowledge, there is only one other such ETF, and its assets under management (AUM) are considerably lower than KOID's.
As its name suggests, KOID is an index-based ETF. Most of its stock holdings are listed on exchanges in the United States, China, and Japan. While I'm not fond of Chinese stocks in general, I think they're OK in global ETFs, as long as they don't notably predominate. Moreover, China is one of the leaders in robotics, so it wouldn't be a good idea to exclude it from such an ETF.
KOID has 50 stock holdings, so it has significant diversity.
The ETF invests "across the broad spectrum of the humanoid ecosystem, including the 'brain' (semiconductors and technology), the 'body' (actuation systems, mechanical systems, sensing and perception, critical materials), and humanoid ' integrators' and manufacturing companies," per its website.
KraneShares Global Humanoid Robotics and Physical AI Index ETF's AUM were $242.6 million, and its net annual expense ratio was 0.69%, as of May 29.
ETF/Index
YTD 2026 Return
Return Since KOID Inception on June 4, 2025
KraneShares Global Humanoid Robotics and Physical AI Index ETF
31.4%
66.8%
S&P 500 Index
11.3%
29.1%
Holding No.
Company
Headquarters
Market Cap
Wall Street's Projected Annualized EPS Growth Over Next 5 Years
Weight (% of Portfolio)
1-Year Return
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total top 10
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Overall ETF
N/A
N/A
Total net assets of $243 million
N/A
100%
N/A
S&P 500
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Here's a brief look at the top five holdings:
Credo Technology is a Silicon Valley-based semiconductor (or chip) company focused on high-speed, power-efficient connectivity solutions for AI-enabled data centers. The company went public in January 2022.
Infineon Technologies designs and manufactures semiconductors, including microchips, sensors, and power management systems. Its key markets include green energy, mobility (especially automotive), and the Internet of Things (IoT).
STMicroelectronics designs and manufactures semiconductor solutions, including microchips, microcontrollers, sensors, and power transistors. Key markets include auto, industrial (including robotics), and IoT. The company states that it provides over 500 components for humanoid robots.
Harmonic Drive Systems provides internal components for humanoid robots. For example, its gearboxes and rotary actuators are used to control humanoid joints, including shoulders, elbows, hips, and wrists.