Manager of DRAM memory chip stock trade blockbuster ETF is back with new AI thematic bet
📰 source: cnbc_topnews · 💼 business
roundhill investments, the manager behind the blockbuster memory etf (dram), is launching a new ai thematic fund: the roundhill photonics and optics etf (lyte), scheduled for thursday. the fund targets optical networking — transmitting data with light pulses through fiber-optic systems instead of electrical signals — which ai data center builders see as essential to overcome heat and signal loss limits of copper.
the bet has big backers. nvidia has committed at least $6.5 billion to photonics companies since march, including stakes in coherent and lumentum, and $2 billion into marvell. goldman sachs projects the optical networking market to grow from $15 billion to $154 billion from 2026-2028. lumentum shares are up over 100% this year, with coherent up 66% and nlight roughly 100%.
roundhill isn't first — tema's lazr photonics etf launched june 30 but has drawn just $18 million and declined since inception. lyte's holdings are undisclosed. the prospectus warns that a slowdown in ai adoption could hurt photonics revenues, and experts caution against over-concentrating in one theme, recalling the dotcom bubble.
why it matters: roundhill's photonics etf offers retail exposure to a niche ai infrastructure bet, with nvidia backing and huge market growth projections.
source: cnbc_topnews
sentiment: +0.30 · impact: 0.30