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RETAIL INVESTORS AREN'T SO SURE THE AI RACE IS THE US'S TO WIN

China is best positioned to lead the global AI race, edging out even the current frontrunner United States, or so retail investors surveyed by investment platform eToro believe.

In a survey of 11,000 participants across 13 countries, 47% picked China against 46% for the U.S., reflecting just how heated the battle for global AI dominance has become.

The shift in sentiment is backed by numbers. Between Q2 2024 and Q2 2026, the proportion of investors expecting China to deliver the strongest long-term stock market returns rose from 24% to 29%, while the U.S. share fell from 45% to 35%, eToro said.

China's prowess in the AI field came to light in January 2025, when startup DeepSeek unveiled a low-cost AI model that rattled industry leaders like Nvidia NVDA.O and triggered a bruising selloff in tech stocks globally.

"Investors are recognizing that China has built a powerful AI ecosystem of its own, with companies such as Alibaba BABA.N, Tencent and Baidu BIDU.O, as well as scale in cloud infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and consumer applications," said Lale Akoner, global market strategist at eToro.

"The US remains the anchor of global equity portfolios, but its perceived lead on future returns has narrowed sharply... it suggests investors are beginning to take a more balanced view of where future growth may come from."

On the U.S. side, retail investors are broadening their AI bets. Some 33% of respondents in a U.S.-based survey believe large tech companies that are integrating AI, Microsoft MSFT.O, Alphabet GOOGL.O and Meta Platforms META.O, are best placed to generate the strongest returns.

30% favor AI-first firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI and semiconductor and chipmaking companies such as Nvidia and Intel INTC.O.

One of the biggest surprises of 2026 has been memory chipmakers. Western Digital WDC.O, Seagate STX.O and Micron Technology MU.O are among the top gainers on the S&P 500, having more than tripled in value. Micron capped it off by joining the $1 trillion club in late May.

(Purvi Agarwal)

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