C3.ai surges 30% to cap off a winning week for many AI stocks and ETFs as ChatGPT frenzy spreads across the market

• C3.ai shares soared Friday and were headed higher for the week alongside other AI-tied stocks and ETFs
• The frenzy surrounding ChatGPT has contributed to C3.ai shares more than doubling in 2023.

C3.ai stock rallied to its highest in a year Friday, highlighting a jump in some AI stocks and funds this week as the popularity of the ChatGPT tool spurs investors to run toward exposure to artificial intelligence.

C3.ai climbed as much as 30% to $28.48 during Friday's session, notching a 52-week high for shares of the business AI software maker.

"The hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence has spilled over into retail investments," said Vanda Research in a note Thursday.

Investors have been pushing into AI-related assets as the buzz surrounding the ChatGPT language bot from OpenAI has been accelerating for weeks. The chatbot displays a human-like ability to perform work like addressing investment questions to writing layoff emails.

C3.ai's share price over the past five days has bulked up about 50%. The stock's value has more than doubled in 2023, with this week's push coming after C3.ai said it would integrate ChatGPT into its lineup of AI tools.

Also headed toward gains this week was Nvidia, up nearly 5%. It was also looking at a year-to-date advance of 46%. Technology from the company, known for its graphics-processing chips, is used for AI integrations including self-driving cars and robots.

Ambarella, a chip designer that serves the AI market, has also picked up about 5% this week and its 2023 gain was hovering around 15%.

Among exchange-traded funds, the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF and the iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF were up roughly 3% and 4% this week. The AI Powered Equity ETF was tracking a more modest rise of 1% but it's bulked up by 15% so far this year.

Vanda Research, which tracks activity among retail investors, said the surge of net inflows into C3.ai stock this week made it among the top 10 most bought securities in US markets. But it also sounded a note of caution.

"Although the strong momentum in Google search trend suggests that there could be appetite for additional buying, we expect to see a slowdown in purchases in the weeks ahead, as interest in the [AI] topic will likely begin to fade."