The S&P Kensho Nanotechnology Index is designed to measure the performance of companies involved in the nanotechnology industry. This includes companies that produce nanoscale materials, as well as those that use nanotechnology in their production lines or that build machines capable of measuring information at the nanoscale.

A subsector index within the S&P Kensho New Economy Index Series, the S&P Kensho Nanotechnology Index intends to represent companies that are focused on mechanical nanoscale processes, from companies that actually produce nanoscale materials to those that use nanotechnology in their production or that build machines capable of measuring information at the nanoscale. Engineering at the molecular level is complicated, and nanotechnology will have an impact on both the electronics industry with ever more miniaturized circuits, as well as biotechnical products that will become "programmable" and be able to carry out more intelligent tasks in the human body.