The AI Chip Bet That Is Beating Tesla and Microsoft for Global Cash
When most investors think of the hottest money in global markets, their minds jump to American tech giants. But in 2026, the fund pulling in more fresh cash than any leveraged ETF tied to Tesla or Microsoft is not based in New York or San Francisco. It tracks a South Korean chipmaker, it is listed in Hong Kong, and it bets twice on every single move the stock makes. The CSOP SK Hynix Daily 2x Leveraged ETF has become the world's top inflow magnet among single-stock leveraged funds — and the reasons behind that are worth understanding clearly.
What This ETF Actually Does
The product, trading under the ticker 7709 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was launched on October 16, 2025, by CSOP Asset Management. It aims to deliver twice the daily return of SK Hynix shares listed on the Korea Exchange. If SK Hynix rises 5% on a given day, the ETF targets a 10% gain — and vice versa on the downside. As of early April 2026, the fund has attracted nearly $1.6 billion in net inflows year-to-date, surpassing comparable leveraged products tied to Tesla and Microsoft, according to Bloomberg data. That is a remarkable figure for a fund that barely existed six months ago.
Why Investors Are Chasing SK Hynix
The underlying logic comes down to one technology: High-Bandwidth Memory, or HBM. These are specialised chips that sit directly alongside AI processors in modern data centres, feeding them data at extraordinary speeds. Without HBM, Nvidia's most powerful GPUs — the H100, H200, and Blackwell series — simply cannot function at scale.
According to Counterpoint Research, SK Hynix held 62% of global HBM shipments in Q2 2025 and 57% of global HBM revenue in Q3. Its entire production capacity for 2026 has already been sold out, with Nvidia as its anchor customer. Bank of America projects the total HBM market will reach $54.6 billion in 2026, a 58% increase year on year. Against that backdrop, the steep selloff that SK Hynix shares suffered earlier in 2026 looked to many investors less like a fundamental problem and more like a buying opportunity.
A Cheap Valuation Adds to the Appeal
Based on forward earnings estimates from iM Securities, SK Hynix trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of roughly 3.7 times for the next twelve months, significantly below Samsung Electronics' comparable ratio of about 6.3. For investors who believe the AI memory supercycle is still in its early chapters, that gap represents a compelling entry point.
More Fuel Ahead
South Korea’s financial regulators just gave the green light to domestic 2x single-stock leveraged ETFs, but they're keeping it tight—you can only bet big on Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, or Hyundai Motor. These products could hit the market as soon as May or June 2026.
SK Hynix isn’t wasting any time either. They're gearing up to activate their massive M15X fabrication plant in May 2026—a project worth more than 20 trillion won. This plant will crank out HBM3E and next-gen HBM4 chips. Meanwhile, SK Hynix quietly filed a Form F-1 with US regulators, aiming for a stock listing in the second half of 2026. That move could pull in as much as $14 billion.
This whole leveraged ETF thing started as a quirky product in Hong Kong, but it’s turning into a pretty clear marker of investor confidence in the AI chip industry.
