MIAMI, Oct. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Defiance ETFs, a leader in thematic and income ETFs, today announced the launch of the Defiance AI Infrastructure Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: AIBN), the first U.S.-listed ETF dedicated to the bonds of AI infrastructure companies. AIBN is designed to give investors exposure to the debt side of the AI buildout: the bonds issued by the four hyperscalers, by U.S.-listed semiconductor companies, and by the AI compute and infrastructure companies that are financing data centers, chips, and compute capacity with borrowed money rather than cash alone.
The AI buildout has moved into the bond market. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle were reported to have issued roughly $220 billion of bonds in 2026 through August, after about $93 billion in all of 2025, and Goldman Sachs has estimated that investors have provided about $500 billion of financing to AI-linked companies so far this year. Estimates for total 2026 AI-related debt issuance across chipmakers, data center developers, and utilities run from roughly $300 billion to $570 billion. That supply has been absorbed one deal at a time, or as a growing and largely unnoticed slice of broad investment grade bond indexes. AIBN isolates it.
“The companies building AI infrastructure have become some of the largest borrowers in the world, and investors have been getting that exposure by accident, as hyperscaler paper quietly becomes a bigger share of the aggregate bond index. AIBN makes it deliberate. It holds the bonds of the companies paying for the buildout, from AAA-rated hyperscalers to the high yield issuers building compute capacity, in one rules-based ETF,” said Sylvia Jablonski, Chief Investment Officer of Defiance ETFs. “Equity investors have had AI infrastructure products for years. This is the fixed income version.”
AIBN seeks to track the MarketVector AI Infrastructure Bond Index, developed by MarketVector Indexes GmbH. The Index holds U.S. dollar denominated corporate bonds and notes issued by AI infrastructure companies incorporated in the United States that have at least $1 billion of bonds outstanding at the time of selection. The Index Provider defines AI infrastructure companies in three groups: Hyperscalers (Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms); Semiconductor Companies (the constituents of the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index); and AI Compute and Infrastructure Companies (IBM, Oracle, CoreWeave, and Space Exploration Technologies).
The four hyperscalers each receive a fixed 12.5% weight, or 50% of the Index together, with up to 15 bonds per issuer weighted by market value. The remaining 50% is allocated to the eligible bonds of the semiconductor and AI compute issuers, weighted by market value, with each of those issuers capped at 5%. Eligible bonds must have a remaining maturity of one to 30 years and a rating from at least one nationally recognized credit rating agency; both investment grade and high yield bonds are eligible, as are Rule 144A and privately placed bonds. The Index targets at least 20 issuers and 200 bonds and is rebalanced monthly.
Key features of AIBN:
- Dedicated AI infrastructure bond exposure: U.S. dollar corporate bonds of hyperscalers, semiconductor companies, and AI compute and infrastructure companies, with no equity holdings.
- Hyperscaler core: Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms each fixed at 12.5% of the Index, 50% in aggregate.
- Market-value weighted satellite: semiconductor and AI compute issuers fill the other 50%, each capped at 5%.
- Full credit spectrum: investment grade and high yield bonds are both eligible, as are Rule 144A and privately placed issues.
- Breadth: the Index targets at least 20 issuers and 200 bonds, with remaining maturities of one to 30 years.
- Monthly rebalance, so new issuance from eligible companies can enter the Index within weeks of pricing.
Fund Details
| Fund Name | Defiance AI Infrastructure Bond ETF |
| Ticker | AIBN |
| Exchange | NYSE Arca |
| Expense Ratio | 0.41% |
| Index | MarketVector AI Infrastructure Bond Index |
| Index Provider | MarketVector Indexes GmbH |
| Index Rebalance | Monthly |
| Investment Adviser | Tidal Investments LLC |
| Fund Sponsor | Defiance ETFs, LLC |
| Distributor | Foreside Fund Services, LLC |
AIBN carries an expense ratio of 0.41%. Tidal Investments LLC serves as the Fund’s investment adviser, and Defiance ETFs, LLC serves as the Fund’s sponsor. AIBN joins Defiance’s lineup of thematic ETFs spanning humanoid robotics, quantum computing, drones and modern warfare, AI infrastructure, and other next-generation technologies.
For more information on the Defiance AI Infrastructure Bond ETF, and to view fund holdings visit https://www.defianceetfs.com/aibn.
About Defiance ETFs
Defiance is a leader in first-mover thematic ETFs designed to provide exposure to the emerging technology sectors defining the future.
We build ETFs around areas that are moving beyond themes and becoming distinct investable categories, from quantum computing and AI infrastructure to modern warfare and other emerging sectors reshaping global markets.
Our approach is built around purity of exposure: identifying these categories early and creating ETFs that give investors targeted access.
For more information, visit www.defianceetfs.com.
Media Contact
Brenda Hentschel
Gregory Agency
bhentschel@gregoryagency.com
201.705.3758
Important Disclosures
The Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other important information about the investment company. Please read the prospectus and / or summary prospectus carefully before investing. Hard copies can be requested by calling 833.333.9383.
Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. As an ETF, the Fund may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. The Fund is new and has a limited operating history.
The Fund invests in fixed income securities, which are subject to credit risk, the risk that an issuer fails to pay interest or principal when due, and interest rate risk: bond prices generally fall when interest rates rise, and longer-maturity bonds are more sensitive to rate changes.
The Index may include high yield bonds (sometimes referred to as junk bonds), which carry greater risk of default and price volatility than investment grade bonds. The Fund may hold Rule 144A and privately placed bonds, which are not publicly traded and may be less liquid than registered securities.
The Fund is non-diversified and is expected to be concentrated in the information technology and communication services sectors, so it may be more volatile than a fund with broader exposure.
Issuers engaged in artificial intelligence and compute infrastructure face intense competition, high capital expenditure, rapid obsolescence, and evolving regulation. As a passively managed fund, the Fund does not take defensive positions in declining markets, and its returns may differ from the Index because of fees, transaction costs, and tracking error. Investors can lose money.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Semiconductor & Semiconductor Equipment Industry Risk. Semiconductor companies may face intense competition and may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources, or personnel. They may rely on a limited number of suppliers, or suppliers in a single location, and production can be disrupted by the unavailability of resources such as water, silicon, electricity, and gases.
Information Technology and Communication Services Sector Risk. Companies in these sectors face intense competition, rapid product obsolescence, substantial capital requirements, and government regulation, and are heavily dependent on intellectual property. Certain companies may be particular targets of hacking and theft of proprietary or consumer information.
Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investment exposure will be concentrated in the same industry or group of industries to the extent the Index is so concentrated, and the value of Shares may rise and fall more than shares of a fund invested across a broader range of industries.
Non-Diversification and Focused Portfolio Risk. Because the Fund is non-diversified and holds a relatively focused portfolio, it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers, and a decline in the value of one or a few investments could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or value, particularly during times of market turmoil. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted.
Economic and Market Risk. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation, interest rates, market or financial system instability, debt crises and downgrades, tariffs, sanctions, and other trade barriers, as well as war, terrorism, natural disasters, and pandemics.
ETF Risks. The Fund has a limited number of Authorized Participants, market makers, and liquidity providers; if they exit the business, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting. Buying or selling Shares involves brokerage commissions and bid-ask spreads. There can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying bonds, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares, leading to wider spreads and larger premiums or discounts.
Index Strategy, Underlying Index, and Data Risk. The Index Provider exercises complete control over the Index and may delay or add a rebalance date. There is no guarantee the methodology will achieve its intended result or positive performance. The Index depends on third-party data, and errors in Index data, computation, or construction may occur and may not be identified or corrected for a period of time or at all. A significant delay in Index calculation may cause trading in Shares to be suspended.
Information regarding the companies referenced is derived from publicly available sources, including the Fund’s prospectus and company announcements. Defiance ETFs has not independently verified this information. None of the companies referenced is affiliated with, or sponsors, endorses, or promotes, Defiance ETFs or the Fund. References to specific companies are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The Fund holds debt securities issued by these companies and does not hold their equity.
The MarketVector AI Infrastructure Bond Index is the exclusive property of MarketVector Indexes GmbH, which has contracted with a calculation agent to maintain and calculate the Index. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by MarketVector Indexes GmbH, and MarketVector Indexes GmbH makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Fund.
*References to AIBN as the first U.S.-listed ETF dedicated to the bonds of AI infrastructure companies are based on a review of publicly available holdings, prospectuses, and disclosures of U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds and pending SEC registration statements as of October 20, 2026, refer to an ETF whose stated principal investment strategy is limited to debt securities issued by companies classified as artificial intelligence infrastructure companies, and are subject to change.
Tidal Investments LLC is the Fund’s investment adviser. Defiance ETFs, LLC is the Fund’s sponsor. Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
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