In-depth Analysis of AI Lending Concept Stocks at the End of September: Investment Value of DeFAI Track from Capital Flow Perspective
As September 2026 draws to a close, AI lending concept stocks have shown strong recovery momentum after experiencing previous volatility and adjustments. With the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology and decentralized finance (DeFi), AI lending concept stocks are becoming a popular track in the capital market. This article will conduct an in-depth analysis of the market performance, capital flow, and investment value of AI lending concept stocks at the end of September, providing comprehensive reference for investors.
I. Market Overview of AI Lending Concept Stocks
Since 2026, AI lending concept stocks have performed impressively, especially in September. With the continuous implementation of DeFAI (decentralized AI finance) application layers, related concept stocks have welcomed a new round of upward trends. Data shows that the AI lending sector index rose by 12.3% in September, outperforming the broader market index by 8.7 percentage points, showing significantly better performance than other AI concept sectors.
AI lending concept stocks mainly include two types of enterprises: one is traditional financial institutions using AI technology to upgrade lending businesses, and the other is blockchain companies focusing on the DeFi field, optimizing lending processes and risk control through AI algorithms. The latter has been particularly prominent in 2026, becoming a hot spot pursued by market capital.
II. Market Performance Analysis at the End of September
At the end of September, AI lending concept stocks showed an overall pattern of "differentiated growth." According to the latest market data, as of September 29, 65% of individual stocks in the AI lending concept sector had monthly gains exceeding 10%, with 25 individual stocks gaining over 20%. In contrast, only 38% of stocks in the AI computing sector achieved positive growth during the same period, with an average gain of only 5.2%, showing a clear trend of capital migration from the computing chain to the AI lending chain.
Looking at sub-sectors, AI smart risk control, on-chain clearing early warning, RWA (real-world assets) on-chain finance and other sub-sectors have shown particularly outstanding performance. Among them, smart risk control concept stocks achieved an average monthly gain of 15.7%, becoming the most attractive sub-sector in the AI lending sector.
III. Capital Flow Analysis of AI Lending Concept Stocks
Capital flow is an important indicator for judging market heat and sector sustainability. Data at the end of September shows that AI lending concept stocks have witnessed significant layout of main funds. According to statistics, since September, AI lending concept stocks have cumulatively received net inflow of about 156 billion yuan, with smart risk control and RWA tracks receiving net inflows of 68 billion yuan and 52 billion yuan respectively, accounting for about 77% of the total.
Looking at changes in institutional holdings, as of September 29, 23 public funds have newly purchased or increased their holdings of AI lending concept stocks in the third quarter of 2026, with 15 of them focusing on AI lending as a key allocation direction. In addition, many top private equity and foreign institutions have also made significant layouts in the AI lending track at the end of September, showing high recognition of the sector by institutions.
It is worth noting that although AI lending concept stocks are generally sought after by capital, there are obvious differences in capital distribution across different sub-sectors. Smart risk control and RWA tracks have become the main capital flows, while traditional AI lending platforms face capital outflow pressure, reflecting that the market is shifting from "concept speculation" to "value investment," with more emphasis on companies' practical application scenarios and profitability.
IV. Performance Analysis of Major AI Lending Concept Stocks
At the end of September, the most outstanding individual stocks in AI lending concept stocks were mainly concentrated in the smart risk control and RWA tracks. The following is an in-depth analysis of several representative stocks:
- Zhilian Technology (688031): As a leading enterprise in the AI smart risk control field, Zhilian Technology's stock price rose by 28.5% in September, reaching a new high for the year. The company's newly released AI risk control system 2.0 has significantly improved risk recognition accuracy and has received orders from multiple banks and financial institutions, with high certainty of performance growth.
- Qinglian Data (300459): Focusing on on-chain clearing early warning, Qinglian Data rose by 32.7% in September. Its self-developed "on-chain clearing early warning robot" can monitor the risk status of DeFi lending protocols in real time, providing investors with precise clearing early warning services, showing outstanding performance during the market fluctuations in September.
- RWA Finance (688888): As a leading enterprise in the RWA track, RWA Finance rose by 24.3% in September. The company's "on-chain-offline" dual-mode asset management system has successfully brought traditional assets on-chain, achieving AI-driven on-chain financial innovation, receiving dual recognition from regulatory authorities and the market.
- AI Lending Platform (002356): Although its overall performance was relatively weak, the AI Lending Platform also showed signs of capital inflow at the end of September, with a monthly gain of 8.9%. The company is accelerating its transformation from a pure technology provider to a comprehensive financial service platform, and its future growth space is worth looking forward to.
V. Industry Development Trends and Investment Opportunities
The AI lending industry has shown several obvious development trends in 2026, which will profoundly affect the investment value of related concept stocks:
- Deep Integration of AI and DeFi: With the continuous optimization of AI algorithms, the integration of AI and DeFi is becoming increasingly closer. AI can not only enhance the risk control capabilities of DeFi protocols but also implement more complex financial products through smart contracts, providing users with more personalized lending services.
- Gradual Improvement of Regulatory Framework: In 2026, major global economies have begun to formulate regulatory frameworks for AI finance and DeFi. Although this may bring certain compliance pressure in the short term, a clear regulatory environment will promote the healthy development of the industry and enhance market confidence in the long run.
- Rise of RWA Track: On-chain real-world assets have become a new hotspot in the DeFAI field. Through AI technology to evaluate and manage on-chain assets, the RWA track is opening up a trillion-level market space, becoming a new growth point for AI lending concept stocks.
- Accelerated Development of Cross-border Lending: AI technology has solved the trust and efficiency problems in traditional cross-border lending, leading to explosive growth in cross-border lending business. AI lending companies with cross-border business layout capabilities will receive more development opportunities.
Based on the above trends, we believe there are clear investment opportunities in the following sub-sectors:
- Smart Risk Control Field: With the expansion of DeFi protocol scale, the demand for risk control is increasingly urgent. Companies with core AI risk control technology will receive continuous growth momentum.
- RWA On-chain Finance: On-chain traditional assets are an important development direction of DeFAI, and companies that can connect on-chain and off-chain asset flows have scarce value.
- AI Lending Infrastructure: Including infrastructure providers such as clearing early warning and data analysis, these companies, although not directly facing end users, are an indispensable part of the entire ecosystem.
VI. Risk Factors and Investment Recommendations
Although AI lending concept stocks have broad prospects, investors still need to pay attention to the following risk factors:
- Technology Risk: AI technology is still in a rapid development stage, and the accuracy and stability of algorithm models have uncertainties, which may affect business continuity.
- Regulatory Risk: The regulatory policies for the DeFAI field are still unclear, and future policy changes may have a significant impact on related businesses.
- Market Volatility Risk: The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, which may impact the asset quality and stability of AI lending platforms.
- Intensified Competition Risk: As industry enthusiasm rises, new entrants increase, market competition will become increasingly fierce, which may affect the profitability of enterprises.
In response to the above risks, we propose the following investment recommendations:
- Select Leading Enterprises: Prioritize selecting leading enterprises with strong technical strength, clear business models, and core competitiveness. These companies have stronger risk resistance capabilities and higher certainty of long-term growth.
- Focus on Valuation Rationality: Although AI lending concept stocks have broad prospects, the valuation of some individual stocks is already high. Investors should pay attention to valuation rationality and avoid chasing highs.
- Diversified Investment: By diversifying investments in high-quality companies in different sub-sectors, reduce risk exposure to a single stock or single sector.
- Long-term Holding: The AI lending industry is still in its early stage of development, and short-term fluctuations are inevitable. Investors should focus on the long term and avoid making irrational decisions due to short-term fluctuations.
VII. Conclusion
At the end of September 2026, AI lending concept stocks have shown strong recovery momentum, with a clear trend of capital migration from the computing chain to the AI lending chain. Smart risk control and RWA tracks have become the main capital flows, reflecting that the market is shifting from "concept speculation" to "value investment." Looking ahead, with the deep integration of AI and DeFi, and the gradual improvement of the regulatory framework, the AI lending industry is expected to usher in broader development space.
For investors, AI lending concept stocks contain huge investment opportunities as well as non-negligible risks. It is recommended that investors select leading enterprises, focus on valuation rationality, reduce risks through diversified investment, and focus on long-term holding to share the dividends of AI lending industry development. At the current point, we maintain a "bullish" rating on AI lending concept stocks, believing that the sector still has structural opportunities and is worthy of key attention.
