DRAM ETF Slumps 40% While $25 B Floods In: Investors Bet on AI’s Long‑Term Promise

In just half a year, semiconductor ETFs have attracted inflows nearing $25 billion, yet the DRAM fund has suffered a near‑40 % drop without deterring buyers.

DRAM Fund: Record Inflows Amid Steep Decline

■DRAM (Roundhill Memory ETF) slipped from 80.72 to an intraday low of 48.64, a loss of roughly 40 %.

■Net assets stand at $23.4 billion, just shy of the late‑June peak of $25.9 billion.

■In under a month the four ETFs pulled in DRAM $8.8 bn, SOXX $8.5 bn, SOXL $5.1 bn, SMH $2.3 bn – a combined $24.7 bn.

High‑Flyers Retreat: Semiconductor Leaders Give Back Gains

■Micron Technology, Marvell Technology and Applied Materials have relinquished large portions of their peak gains.

■Year‑to‑date returns remain impressive: SOXX +118 %, SMH +86 %, DRAM +191 %, SOXL +616 %.

■Even after the pullback, all four funds stay firmly positive on the year.

AI Infrastructure Skepticism Revived by Kimi K3

■Doubts over the sustainability of AI‑related capex have resurfaced despite rising budgets at the biggest tech firms.

■The Chinese open‑source model Kimi K3, touted as a rival to Anthropic and OpenAI frontier models, revives memories of the DeepSeek episode in early 2025, when cheap models threatened to curb AI infrastructure spending.

■Analysts note Kimi K3 matches capability but lags on cost‑per‑task, complicating the outlook for closed‑source AI chips.

Gökberk Uçar: The relentless inflows into DRAM despite its 40 % decline signal that investors view the dip as a buying opportunity for long‑term AI infrastructure exposure. Yet the spread of cost‑advantaged open‑source models like Kimi K3 could erode demand for proprietary frontier chips, indirectly affecting the high‑value semiconductor cargo that air‑freight operators handle. Logistics planners in the air‑freight sector should therefore build flexible inventory strategies to weather short‑term stock swings in electronic components.