The Industry · Tracked on theaie.net
The AIE Index
Twenty-four public AI stocks across every layer of the stack, tracked live since August 2024.
- +114.2%
- AIEI since Aug 6, 2024
- +70.2%
- Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
- +51.3%
- S&P 500 (SPY)
- +43.1%
- Annualized
Snapshot · data as of Sep 21, 2026 · 82% of holdings positive · total return, dividends summed
What the index is
Mark Hinkle built the AIE Index in August 2024, when the market was calling the whole AI trade a bubble. The bet was that the infrastructure being built would create value the way the dot-com fiber eventually carried the internet, even if individual companies flamed out. So the index owns every layer: chips, memory, networking, power, clouds, and software. Equal-ish weights, no trading, and a public scorecard.
Why it sits on The Industry
We keep it on The Industry because it is the one desk with a price on it. The lists say who we are watching; the index says what the market thinks of the layers they sit in. The two disagree often enough to be interesting.
Track record
Growth of $100 since Aug 6, 2024
$100 in the original 22 holdings at the index's published weights, held without trading, next to the same $100 in the Nasdaq-100 and the S&P 500. By Sep 21, 2026 the index stood at $213, the Nasdaq-100 at $169, and the S&P 500 at $148.
Month by month, Aug 24 to Sep 26
| Month end | AIEI | Nasdaq-100 | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2024 | $100.0 | $100.0 | $100.0 |
| Aug 30, 2024 | $106.7 | $108.4 | $108.0 |
| Sep 30, 2024 | $114.7 | $111.0 | $109.9 |
| Oct 31, 2024 | $115.4 | $110.1 | $108.9 |
| Nov 29, 2024 | $130.9 | $116.0 | $115.4 |
| Dec 31, 2024 | $128.9 | $116.3 | $112.2 |
| Jan 31, 2025 | $134.5 | $118.8 | $115.3 |
| Feb 28, 2025 | $122.3 | $115.6 | $113.8 |
| Mar 31, 2025 | $110.7 | $106.7 | $107.1 |
| Apr 30, 2025 | $119.3 | $108.2 | $106.2 |
| May 30, 2025 | $135.1 | $118.1 | $112.9 |
| Jun 30, 2025 | $147.9 | $125.5 | $118.3 |
| Jul 31, 2025 | $161.1 | $128.5 | $121.1 |
| Aug 29, 2025 | $155.3 | $129.8 | $123.5 |
| Sep 30, 2025 | $172.9 | $136.6 | $127.6 |
| Oct 31, 2025 | $193.6 | $143.1 | $130.6 |
| Nov 28, 2025 | $177.6 | $140.9 | $130.9 |
| Dec 31, 2025 | $174.8 | $139.8 | $130.6 |
| Jan 30, 2026 | $169.8 | $141.5 | $132.5 |
| Feb 27, 2026 | $163.0 | $138.2 | $131.4 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | $159.0 | $131.3 | $124.6 |
| Apr 30, 2026 | $190.3 | $151.9 | $137.6 |
| May 29, 2026 | $207.4 | $168.0 | $144.9 |
| Jun 30, 2026 | $199.6 | $167.5 | $143.0 |
| Jul 31, 2026 | $180.2 | $156.5 | $143.1 |
| Aug 31, 2026 | $201.6 | $163.1 | $146.9 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | $212.9 | $168.7 | $148.1 |
Every holding, since inception
The original 22, ranked by return
Total return since Aug 6, 2024, as of Sep 21, 2026. Names that left the index in the July 2026 rebalance are marked. The notes are Mark's, from the two-year report.
- PLTRPalantirUp 140% and 135% in back-to-back periods, then gave back 29% in 2026 as the multiple came back to Earth.Up 140% and 135% in back-to-back periods, then gave back 29% in 2026 as the multiple came back to Earth.+589%
- INTCIntelBought days from a multi-decade low. Lip-Bu Tan took over, 18A shipped, and the foundry turnaround became real.Bought days from a multi-decade low. Lip-Bu Tan took over, 18A shipped, and the foundry turnaround became real.+515%
- AMDAdvanced Micro DevicesThe MI series finally landed, outrunning NVIDIA itself in 2026.The MI series finally landed, outrunning NVIDIA itself in 2026.+373%
- VRTVertivPower and cooling for data centers. The purest 'electricity is the bottleneck' trade, and it compounded every period.Power and cooling for data centers. The purest 'electricity is the bottleneck' trade, and it compounded every period.+263%
- TSMTSMCEverybody's chips come out of the same fabs.Everybody's chips come out of the same fabs.+191%
- ANETArista Networks+154%
- GOOGLAlphabet+125%
- NVDANVIDIA+119%
- SYMSymbotic+92%
- TSLATeslaDropped Jul 2026+87%
- AMZNAmazon+60%
- METAMeta Platforms+51%
- DLRDigital RealtyDropped Jul 2026+33%
- IBMIBM+32%
- MSFTMicrosoftThe genuine shocker. Negative over two years while funding the biggest capex boom in history.The genuine shocker. Negative over two years while funding the biggest capex boom in history.+27%
- PATHUiPathDropped Jul 2026+25%
- ORCLOracle+19%
- CRMSalesforceDropped Jul 2026The poster child of the SaaSpocalypse.The poster child of the SaaSpocalypse.+1%
- SNPSSynopsysDropped Jul 2026-20%
- SMCISuper MicroDropped Jul 2026The short report hit weeks after the index bought it. Sometimes the market just punches you in the mouth.The short report hit weeks after the index bought it. Sometimes the market just punches you in the mouth.-33%
- ADBEAdobeDropped Jul 2026Down every period. The market decided generative AI disrupts Adobe rather than feeding it.Down every period. The market decided generative AI disrupts Adobe rather than feeding it.-51%
- AIC3.aiDropped Jul 2026Tom Siebel's health forced him out, revenue fell 35%, and the company flirted with a sale.Tom Siebel's health forced him out, revenue fell 35%, and the company flirted with a sale.-55%
From the two-year report
The stack ate the software.
In 2024 the reasonable thesis was that AI would supercharge software companies. What happened is that AI supercharged the companies selling shovels and started eating the software incumbents. Mark's layer-by-layer averages from the report, published July 31, 2026:
- Semiconductors+142%
- Infrastructure+138%
- Physical AI+109%
- Hyperscalers+35%
- Software and applications+30%
Average two-year return by layer at the time of the report. Take Palantir out of the software group and it is negative 25%.
The AIE Index at Two Years: Up 96%, and Everything I Got WrongRight: the blend.
Owning every layer meant nobody had to predict which layer would win, and the rotation was violent. 2025's leaders became 2026's laggards while semis and power took over.
Wrong: the application layer.
Five of six software picks lost money. The companies standing between the frontier labs and the enterprise customer turned out to be in the worst place on the org chart.
Luck, acknowledged.
August 2024 was a historically good day to buy Intel and a historically bad one to buy Super Micro and Adobe. Net, the timing broke the index's way.
The rule for Anthropic and OpenAI
Newly public AI companies enter on a fixed schedule rather than on the day they list: a capped 3% starter weight after 90 trading days or the first public earnings report, whichever comes first, then a full equal-weight slot after lock-up expiry. Committed in advance so nobody buys the first print. SpaceXAI is the first name it binds — SpaceX listed as SPCX on June 12, 2026, and xAI merged into it that February — and it enters on that schedule like anything else, not on my say-so. Anthropic and OpenAI enter the same way once they are public.
The index today
AIEI 2.0: 24 holdings, from Jul 12, 2026
Eight out, eight in: memory, neocloud, connectivity, and power generation added. SpaceX, the parent of xAI, joined on September 21, 2026 as the 23rd holding and the first in a new frontier models layer. Apple joined on October 7, 2026 as the 24th, in a new AI workstations layer. Companies with a page in our directory link to it. Since the rebalance the index is at 106.1 on a base of 100 (+6.1%).
Compute and semiconductors
Memory
- MUNEWMicron+6.6%
- SKHYNEWSK hynix+12.4%
Infrastructure
- ANETArista Networks+9.9%
- VRTVertiv-21.3%
- ALABNEWAstera Labs-17.5%
- DELLNEWDell+32.4%
Power
- GEVNEWGE Vernova-13.3%
Neocloud
Hyperscalers
Frontier models
AI workstations
- AAPLNEWApplefrom Oct 7
Physical AI
- SYMSymbotic+0.7%
Out in July 2026: C3.ai, Adobe, Super Micro, Salesforce, Synopsys, UiPath, Tesla, Digital Realty. In: Broadcom, Micron, SK hynix, CoreWeave, ServiceNow, Dell, Astera Labs, GE Vernova.
Quick answers
- What is the AIE Index?
- The AIE Index (AIEI) is a basket of 24 public AI stocks across every layer of the stack: chips, memory, networking, power, clouds, frontier models, AI workstations, and software. Mark Hinkle built it in August 2024 for The AI Enterprise newsletter, and it is tracked live on theaie.net. It is an educational exercise, not an investment product.
- How has the AIE Index performed?
- From its August 6, 2024 inception through September 21, 2026, the original 22 holdings returned +114.2% with dividends summed, against +70.2% for the Nasdaq-100 and +51.3% for the S&P 500. 82% of holdings were positive. These figures come from the live tracker and are filled in from the same snapshot the chart above uses.
- What changed in the July 2026 rebalance?
- Eight names left (C3.ai, Adobe, Super Micro, Salesforce, Synopsys, UiPath, Tesla, Digital Realty) and eight joined (Broadcom, Micron, SK hynix, CoreWeave, ServiceNow, Dell, Astera Labs, GE Vernova). The rebalanced index, AIEI 2.0, is tracked equal-weight from July 12, 2026.
- When did SpaceX join the AIE Index?
- SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) joined AIEI 2.0 as its 23rd holding on September 21, 2026, in a new frontier models layer. xAI, the maker of Grok, merged into SpaceX in February 2026, and SpaceX listed on June 12, 2026, so SPCX is the only public way to own a frontier AI lab.
- Why is Apple in the AIE Index?
- Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) joined AIEI 2.0 as its 24th holding on October 7, 2026, in a new AI workstations layer. It is Mark Hinkle's dark horse pick for AI: Apple's own chips and their unified memory put the Mac platform in prime position for AI workstations, and eventually AI servers, that run your own models.
- Is the AIE Index investment advice?
- No. It is an educational exercise published by The AIE Network, and nothing about it is financial advice. Do your own research.