Designing a trillion-transistor chip on paper is only half the battle. Bringing next-generation AI processors to life requires physically manipulating matter at the sub-nanometer level—a feat impossible without the world's most advanced wafer fabrication equipment. Long before a GPU ever enters a data center server rack, it must pass through an ultra-specialized manufacturing pipeline governed by a tiny handful of toolmakers.
While market attention frequently concentrates on front-end chip designers, the foundational picks and shovels of the semiconductor industry sit in the fabrication equipment layer. The companies that design and build these atomic-precision systems command massive competitive advantages, high pricing power, and multi-year order backlogs driven by global foundry expansion.
To give investors targeted exposure to this essential infrastructure layer, we launched the PurePlay NVIDIA Ecosystem Picks & Shovels Index ETF (NASDAQ: NVPS). NVPS seeks to deliver concentrated exposure to the entire hardware value chain—from advanced lithography and etch machinery to liquid cooling, networking, and memory.
[Explore the NVPS Prospectus and Current Holdings Here]
The Machine Triad: Lithography, Etch, and Deposition
Manufacturing modern AI chips requires three interconnected equipment steps executed with extreme accuracy. As of August 11, 2026, NVPS provides direct exposure to some of the market leaders across each of these three critical steps:
ASML Holding NV: The world’s sole producer of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems. ASML’s multi-hundred-million-dollar tools use short-wavelength light to project intricate circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, making advanced node manufacturing (3nm and below) physically possible.
Lam Research Corp: The premier provider of advanced etch systems. Lam's tools selectively remove materials with atomic precision, carving out complex vertical channels and 3D chip structures required for modern high-performance architectures.
Applied Materials Inc: The global leader in materials engineering and deposition equipment. Applied Materials manufactures the systems that deposit ultra-thin atomic layers onto silicon, ensuring structural integrity and precise conductive pathways across billions of transistors.
*Some of the companies mentioned in this blog are held in NVPS. To view a list of the top 10 holdings and the complete fund holdings please visit www.pureplayetfs.com/nvps. Fund holdings are subject to change.
Agnostic Infrastructure: Capturing Global Semiconductor Capital Expenditure
The beauty of the semiconductor equipment sector lies in its neutrality. Regardless of whether hyperscalers deploy proprietary custom Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), which are hardcoded for a single application, or commercial GPUs, every advanced semiconductor must be manufactured using tools from ASML, Lam Research, and Applied Materials.
As tech giants, national governments, and commercial foundries commit hundreds of billions of dollars to build out domestic chip fabrication facilities globally, tool vendors sit directly in the flow of that capital expenditure. Because the R&D and engineering complexity required to build these machines takes decades to replicate, this sector enjoys some of the most defensible market positions in the technology universe.
Unbundled Exposure to the Physical Hardware Layer
Unlocking the next wave of AI capabilities requires scaled-up physical manufacturing capacity. Yet, conventional tech index funds often dilute this thesis by holding heavy allocations in consumer applications, social platforms, and digital advertising networks.
NVPS isolates the hardware core. By targeting the irreplaceable equipment makers, component suppliers, and physical infrastructure builders powering the semiconductor ecosystem, we believe that NVPS gives investors a direct line to the real-world engines driving AI forward.
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please visit the website at www.pureplayetfs.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.
The Fund is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC serves as the investment advisor of the Fund. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is not affiliated with Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC or any of its affiliates.
Risk Disclosures:
Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee the Fund will achieve their stated objectives.
New/Smaller Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term. In addition, new funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and new and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is non-diversified under the 1940 Act, meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.
NVIDIA Dependence Risk. Because the Index is designed to provide exposure to companies that have a material commercial relationship with NVIDIA, the Index, and therefore the Fund, is highly sensitive to NVIDIA-specific developments. Actual or perceived adverse events at NVIDIA, including financial distress, demand declines, supply or regulatory disruptions, litigation, reputational harm, strategic shifts, or insolvency, could impair the results and valuations of Index constituents that rely on NVIDIA as a key customer, supplier, or technology partner, leading to material declines and heightened volatility in the Fund.