Roundhill Launches First Robotaxi-Focused ETF

Roundhill Investments launched the first ETF focused specifically on the robotaxi and autonomous vehicle theme last week.

The Robotaxi, Autonomous Vehicles & Technology ETF (CABZ) debuted with a 0.59% expense ratio and holds 28 stocks. Interest in autonomous vehicles has been rising as AVs increasingly appear in real-world settings, with pilot programs and commercial services expanding across multiple cities globally.

Competing Visions of Autonomy

Alphabet’s Waymo was the early pioneer in robotaxis and currently operates commercial services in five regions, with plans to expand to dozens more this year. Waymo now has more than 2,000 vehicles in its fleet.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long predicted that robotaxis would proliferate across cities worldwide. Tesla launched a robotaxi service in Austin in June of last year and expanded it to additional cities over the course of the year. Most rides have included safety drivers in the front seat, though the company has reportedly begun testing fully driverless operations.

Musk believes Tesla’s approach, where any Tesla vehicle can eventually become fully autonomous using vision-based systems, will win out over Waymo’s more capital-intensive model, which relies on detailed mapping, geofencing, and extensive sensor hardware such as lidar.

Regardless of which model ultimately prevails, the autonomous vehicle era appears to be moving closer to reality, and CABZ aims to capitalize on that trend.

What the ETF Owns

According to the ETF’s prospectus, CABZ is actively managed and invests across the autonomous vehicle ecosystem, including hardware, software, and enabling infrastructure companies.

The fund’s largest holding is Tesla at 8.3%, followed by Alphabet at 6.3%.

Uber, which has partnered with several autonomous vehicle developers including Waymo and Avride to offer AV rides through its app in multiple cities worldwide, represents 6.2% of the portfolio. 

While many companies are racing to develop autonomous driving technology, Uber’s strategy appears to center on AV technology becoming increasingly commoditized, allowing it to serve as a global distribution platform.

Other holdings include China-based autonomous driving companies WeRide, Baidu, and Pony.ai, all of which operate autonomous ride services in select Chinese cities.

The ETF also owns Nvidia, which provides a full-stack platform for autonomous vehicles, spanning AI training, simulation, and in-vehicle compute. The company's technology is widely used by AV developers outside of Tesla’s and Waymo’s proprietary systems.

Additional holdings include Amazon, which owns robotaxi developer Zoox, and General Motors, whose Cruise subsidiary has had a turbulent history in autonomous driving. GM previously shut down Cruise following safety incidents but appears to be re-entering the space with a greater focus on advanced driver-assistance systems and a more gradual path toward full autonomy.

How CABZ Differs From Existing ETFs

Roundhill says CABZ is the first ETF focused exclusively on the robotaxi and self-driving ecosystem. However, investors already have access to funds tied to related themes, including the iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech ETF (IDRV), which has about $156 million in assets, and the Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (DRIV), which manages roughly $362 million. Both are index-based products that combine exposure to autonomous driving and electric vehicles.

While there is clear overlap between EV and self-driving themes (most automakers pursuing electrification also envision increasingly autonomous vehicles), the dual-theme approach can materially shape portfolio construction. Adding electric vehicles to the mandate can tilt funds toward battery materials, power generation, and other parts of the EV supply chain.

For example, IDRV’s top holding is Albemarle, one of the world’s largest lithium producers, while DRIV’s largest position is Bloom Energy, which focuses on electricity generation. Both reflect a heavier emphasis on electrification than on autonomous driving itself.

Pure Plays vs. Conglomerates

As with many thematic ETFs, CABZ blends pure-play autonomous vehicle companies with larger conglomerates for which AVs represent only a small portion of overall business. Even Alphabet’s Waymo, while potentially transformative, remains dwarfed by the company’s search, YouTube, and LLM businesses.

Tesla is close to a pure play, though it is also investing heavily in adjacent technologies such as humanoid robots. Other pure-play exposure comes from companies like Mobileye and several of the Chinese AV firms held in the portfolio.

The autonomous vehicle landscape is evolving rapidly, and it remains unclear whether Tesla’s vision-based model or Alphabet’s more cautious approach will win out. For investors, as with any thematic ETF, understanding what sits under the hood remains critical.