The debut of industry-leading artificial intelligence stocks on public markets is hardly a regular occurrence, so when Cerebras (CBRS +19.04%) completed its initial public offering (IPO) earlier this month, many AI investors sat up and took note.
But with the market's appetite high for Cerebras stock, many may feel unwilling to pay such a high price for exposure to the AI hardware and cloud company. Fortunately, there's an AI-themed ETF that offers exposure to Cerebras and a variety of other AI leaders.
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Nvidia is an AI leader -- but Cerebras is nipping at its heels
Most investors know that the AI market is expected to experience explosive growth in the coming years. Business intelligence firm Grand View Research estimates that the global AI market was valued at $390.9 billion in 2025 and projects it to soar to $3.5 trillion in 2033.
There are a variety of routes to gain exposure to this burgeoning market, but Nvidia (NVDA +1.30%) has emerged as one of the most popular AI stocks thanks to its leading graphics processing units (GPUs) -- vital components used in data centers where AI computing occurs. And it's not only ordinary investors who have recognized it as a leading AI option; professional investors have as well. According to research from The Motley Fool, Nvidia ranks as one of the stocks with the highest hedge fund conviction.
Despite Nvidia's indisputable reign among AI stocks, Cerebras also offers a compelling option. Instead of a GPU, the company's CS‑3 is a wafer‑scale AI accelerator system designed to replace GPU clusters for large‑scale AI workloads. Cerebras contends that the CS-3 is a viable alternative to Nvidia's GPUs, citing a third-party analysis that found it 21 times faster than Nvidia's Blackwell B200 GPU when running the Llama 3 70B model.
Retreating from its initial rise, Cerebras stock still seems high
Cerebras priced its IPO at $185, and shares soared on the first day of trading, hitting an intraday high of $386.34. Shares have retreated since then, and on May 22, Cerebras stock closed at $256.78.
Even with this drop, Cererbas stock is still trading at a lofty valuation: 611.4 times trailing earnings and 9,534 times operating cash flow. Fortunately, for investors, there's another option for gaining AI exposure.
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Reduce your risk with this AI-themed ETF
Since IPO stocks often exhibit volatility and Cerebras trades at a steep valuation, investors may want to keep their distance from the stock for a while. Those seeking AI exposure, though, should consider the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ +1.70%).
With $10 billion in net assets and a 0.68% expense ratio, the ETF includes many familiar names in the AI industry. Micron Technology, Broadcom, and Nvidia are just a few leading AI stocks found among the top 10 holdings, for example. While semiconductor stocks have the largest weighting in the fund (about 32%), software companies and hardware companies also represent prominent positions with weightings of 28% and 16%, respectively.
Investing in the ETF provides comprehensive exposure to the industry's various facets and mitigates the risk of excessive concentration in Cerebras. Of course, there's always the possibility that the fund adds Cerebras stock in the future, providing investors with indirect exposure.
