The artificial intelligence ETF is one of the most popular fund launches of 2017

The AI Powered Equity ETF AIEQ, -0.31% an exchange-traded fund that uses artificial intelligence technology to select the stocks it holds, has emerged as one of the most successful new funds of the year, proving so popular with investors that it has stunned its own (human) creators. "We were absolutely surprised by the degree of interest," said Art Amador, co-founder of EquBot LLC, which sponsored the fund. "We launched with $2.5 million in assets and were hoping to get to $40 million by the end of the year. Instead, we got that within the first week and now we're north of $70 million. The fund's software "constantly" analyzes information for roughly 6,000 U.S.-listed stocks, according to the company, scanning through regulatory filings, news articles, social media posts, and traditional financial metrics--including factors pertaining to correlations and valuations--to find investments it perceives as undervalued.