Photonics could be the next one, and a new exchange-traded fund just opened for business to play it.
The Corgi Lithography & Semiconductor Photonics ETF (CBOE: EUV) launched on May 6 as the first U.S.-listed fund built around the photonics theme.
It holds $18.4 million in assets so far, a fraction of the nearly $7 billion that flooded into the Roundhill Memory ETF (NASDAQ:DRAM) in roughly a month.
But the lukewarm reception is hiding a more interesting story.
Fifteen of EUV’s forty holdings are already up more than 100% year-to-date. Three are up more than 300%. One is up more than 650%.
Why Photonics, Why Now?
Photonics is the use of light to do work that electrons used to do.
In an AI data center, that means using lasers and optical fiber to move data between graphics processing units instead of copper wires, which are running into hard physical limits at the bandwidths Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) clusters now demand.
Think of it as the plumbing for AI. When hyperscalers wire up hundreds of thousands of GPUs into a single training cluster, the bottleneck is no longer the chip. It is the cable between the chips.
That is why optical transceivers, photonic integrated circuits, co-packaged optics and pluggable optics have become the most crowded supply-constrained corner of the AI buildout.
Nvidia has poured billions into photonics suppliers to lock down capacity. Orders extend 18 months out at some firms, well above historical norms of 12 months.
According to estimates made by Corgi Funds, the issuer behind EUV, the silicon photonics market is projected to grow from $2.8 billion in 2025 to $10.7 billion by 2032 at a 21% compound annual growth rate, driven by AI data center demand.
15 Names Inside EUV ETF Are Already Up Triple Digits In 2026
Inside EUV’s basket sits a roster of stocks that have already gone vertical.
The top performers year-to-date among EUV’s components include AXT Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI), up 651.7%, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:
