Efficient chip makers may offer better investment opportunities in AI stocks.

Investors betting on the long-term trend of AI deployment have focused on data-center infrastructure and chip makers. Nvidia has returned 189% this year, but is now an expensive stock. A screen of 60 makers of computer chips and related hardware shows which companies have made the most efficient use of invested capital over the past five years. The Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF, iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF, and First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence & Robotics ETF are three ETFs that take various approaches to investing in AI.