Retail investors flock to small-cap AI firms as Big Tech battles for share

ChatGPT logo is seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - Retail investors are piling into small-cap firms that are into building artificial intelligence tools as companies including Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft jostle to pull ahead in the race for the next big growth driver.

The viral success of ChatGPT has turned the spotlight on AI on Wall Street, reminiscent of the blockchain hype from a few years ago when shares of companies remotely associated with the technology surged.