The Simplest Way to Invest in the AI Revolution Is Hiding in Plain Sight

In November 2022, OpenAI released GPT-3.5. This was a watershed moment, as the chatbot amassed 100 million monthly active users in just two months. This kicked off the artificial intelligence (AI) cycle.

Companies involved in this technological shift have generally been rewarded by the market with huge returns. And given that Nvidia's management predicts $3 trillion to $4 trillion in annual AI infrastructure spending by 2030, this trend doesn't appear to be slowing down.

Do you want to invest in the AI revolution? The simplest way to do so might be hiding in plain sight.

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This tech-heavy ETF has performed extremely well

Investors looking for a hassle-free way to gain exposure to the AI trade should take a look at the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ). It tracks the performance of the largest 100 nonfinancial companies that trade on the Nasdaq exchange, otherwise known as the Nasdaq-100 index. It's much more concentrated than the popular S&P 500 benchmark, and there's a focus on technology names.

The top positions in this exchange-traded fund (ETF) sit right at the center of the AI boom. Nvidia, which has more than 80% share of the market for data center graphics processing units, represents 8.1% of the portfolio. The hyperscalers -- Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms -- combine to make up 18.4% of the ETF.

And thanks to surging demand for memory and storage, Micron Technology has risen to become the third-biggest holding.

All of these businesses have benefited from the AI wave, directly propelling the Invesco QQQ Trust. In the past three years, this ETF has produced a fantastic total return of 92% (as of July 22), and the expense ratio of 0.18% isn't steep.

AI presents a risk and an opportunity

The most obvious risk with the ongoing AI revolution is that the spending that's taking place will taper off. The analyst community projects Amazon's free cash flow, for instance, will be negative in 2026. And Alphabet just upped its planned capital expenditures (capex) yet again.

And returns might not be high enough to justify the huge capex. This is the most important question facing the market and economy. Any sign of weakness can send this ETF tumbling.

But AI is also an exciting opportunity for investors to tap into here. If this technology eventually ushers in a new era of productivity gains, something the bulls are sure will happen, then it bodes well for the Invesco QQQ Trust.

Neil Patel has positions in Invesco QQQ Trust. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.