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Here's Why Semiconductor ETFs Are Hitting 52-Week Highs
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The semiconductor space has been hot lately. Almost all exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been striking 52-week highs. These ETFs include S&P Semiconductor SPDR (XSD - Free Report) , Dynamic Semiconductors Invesco ETF (PSI - Free Report) , VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) , First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL - Free Report) , Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXQ - Free Report) , and iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) . These ETFs have gained in the range of 8% to 14% over the past one month.
Let’s find out what’s cooking up in the sector.
Huge AI Investments Scheduled in the UK
Trump and Britain joined forces on advancing AI, quantum computing and nuclear technologies. Microsoft, NVIDIA, Alphabet and tech giants plan over $40 billion of new AI investments in the United Kingdom, as quoted on CNBC. Microsoft will be investing $30 billion in the U.K. between 2025 and 2028, including $15.5 billion in additional capital commitments, the same CNBC article reported.
NVIDIA recently announced £11 billion ($15 billion) in investment in the U.K. with partners Nscale and U.S.-based cloud-computing company CoreWeave. NVIDIA plans to deploy 120,000 Blackwell GPU chips in the United Kingdom. The deployment marks its largest-ever deployment in Europe, according to the same CNBC source.
Google announced a £5 billion ($6.8 billion) investment in U.K. AI development, as quoted on CNBC.Google also unveiled the opening of its new state-of-the-art data center near London, the same CNBC article revealed.
NVIDIA’s Investment in Intel
Meanwhile, NVIDIA announced a $5 billion investment in Intel, as part of a deal to co-develop data center and PC chips with the latter. Intel shares soared 22.8% on Sept. 18 after the $5 billion NVIDIA investment, which marked Intel’s best day in about 38 years, as quoted on CNBC.
NVIDIA now joins Softbank and the U.S. government in facilitating Intel’s turnaround. Note that the U.S. government acquired a 10% stake in Intel in August. SoftBank also made a $2 billion investment in Intel in August, as quoted on CNBC.
NVIDIA’s Investment in OpenAI
On Sept. 22, 2025, NVIDIA announced that it plans to invest up to $100 billion in artificial intelligence startup OpenAI under a newly announced agreement, per a Reuters article, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
The firms signed a letter of intent for a strategic partnership that will see OpenAI deploy at least 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA chips to power its AI infrastructure. The first phase of deployment is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
Rigetti Computing- Air Force Deal
In the meantime, Rigetti Computing has recently been awarded a three-year $5.8 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to advance superconducting quantum networking. Rigetti will partner with QphoX, a Dutch quantum startup focused on advanced frequency conversion systems for quantum applications.
Bottom Line
With semiconductor being the backbone of the above-mentioned technologies, ETFs like XSD, SOXX and SMH had every reason to rally.
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Here's Why Semiconductor ETFs Are Hitting 52-Week Highs
The semiconductor space has been hot lately. Almost all exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been striking 52-week highs. These ETFs include S&P Semiconductor SPDR (XSD - Free Report) , Dynamic Semiconductors Invesco ETF (PSI - Free Report) , VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) , First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (FTXL - Free Report) , Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXQ - Free Report) , and iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) . These ETFs have gained in the range of 8% to 14% over the past one month.
Let’s find out what’s cooking up in the sector.
Huge AI Investments Scheduled in the UK
Trump and Britain joined forces on advancing AI, quantum computing and nuclear technologies. Microsoft, NVIDIA, Alphabet and tech giants plan over $40 billion of new AI investments in the United Kingdom, as quoted on CNBC. Microsoft will be investing $30 billion in the U.K. between 2025 and 2028, including $15.5 billion in additional capital commitments, the same CNBC article reported.
NVIDIA recently announced £11 billion ($15 billion) in investment in the U.K. with partners Nscale and U.S.-based cloud-computing company CoreWeave. NVIDIA plans to deploy 120,000 Blackwell GPU chips in the United Kingdom. The deployment marks its largest-ever deployment in Europe, according to the same CNBC source.
Google announced a £5 billion ($6.8 billion) investment in U.K. AI development, as quoted on CNBC.Google also unveiled the opening of its new state-of-the-art data center near London, the same CNBC article revealed.
NVIDIA’s Investment in Intel
Meanwhile, NVIDIA announced a $5 billion investment in Intel, as part of a deal to co-develop data center and PC chips with the latter. Intel shares soared 22.8% on Sept. 18 after the $5 billion NVIDIA investment, which marked Intel’s best day in about 38 years, as quoted on CNBC.
NVIDIA now joins Softbank and the U.S. government in facilitating Intel’s turnaround. Note that the U.S. government acquired a 10% stake in Intel in August. SoftBank also made a $2 billion investment in Intel in August, as quoted on CNBC.
NVIDIA’s Investment in OpenAI
On Sept. 22, 2025, NVIDIA announced that it plans to invest up to $100 billion in artificial intelligence startup OpenAI under a newly announced agreement, per a Reuters article, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
The firms signed a letter of intent for a strategic partnership that will see OpenAI deploy at least 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA chips to power its AI infrastructure. The first phase of deployment is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
Rigetti Computing- Air Force Deal
In the meantime, Rigetti Computing has recently been awarded a three-year $5.8 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to advance superconducting quantum networking. Rigetti will partner with QphoX, a Dutch quantum startup focused on advanced frequency conversion systems for quantum applications.
Bottom Line
With semiconductor being the backbone of the above-mentioned technologies, ETFs like XSD, SOXX and SMH had every reason to rally.