Asset managers are increasingly looking beyond traditional indexes to stand out in the crowded semiconductor ETF market, and Tema ETFs is betting that proprietary industry research can provide an edge.
The ETF issuer on Monday announced an exclusive partnership with semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis to develop a suite of research-driven solutions for ETFs covering the global semiconductor value chain. The move comes as investor demand for AI infrastructure investments continues to grow, fueling competition among ETF issuers to launch differentiated products tied to chipmakers, data centers and cloud computing.
Tema said the exclusive partnership will ultimately result in eight specialized ETFs spanning the semiconductor supply chain, with investment strategies informed by SemiAnalysis' proprietary research. The firms are targeting a market where semiconductor ETFs collectively manage more than $350 billion in assets, the vast majority of which track passive indexes, as investors seek more specialized exposure to an increasingly complex AI infrastructure landscape.
A Push Beyond Traditional Semiconductor ETFs
Unlike broad semiconductor funds that typically track market-cap-weighted indexes, the planned ETFs will draw on SemiAnalysis' research across AI, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure and data centers to help shape investment strategies.
Tema said the partnership will result in what it describes as the first suite of institutional-grade, research-driven semiconductor ETFs spanning the industry's entire value chain.
Capitalizing On The AI Investment Boom
The announcement comes as investors continue pouring money into AI-related investment themes, with semiconductor companies remaining central beneficiaries of spending on generative AI, hyperscale data centers and advanced computing infrastructure.
The announcement underscores a broader trend in the ETF industry, where issuers are increasingly partnering with specialist research firms and industry experts to create differentiated thematic products as competition intensifies in fast-growing areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
The partnership also underscores SemiAnalysis' growing influence within the AI and semiconductor ecosystem. The research firm's work has been publicly recognized by Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang, who highlighted its analysis during Nvidia's 2026 developer conference, while Microsoft Corp CEO Satya Nadella recently hosted SemiAnalysis founder Dylan Patel for an interview discussing the company's artificial general intelligence (AGI) strategy.
