Global semiconductor stocks fell on Tuesday, October 13, after Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan warned that some investors were making speculative bets on artificial intelligence, while advances by a Chinese chipmaker raised fears of stronger competition in the industry.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index dropped 6.25%, with Samsung Electronics shares falling 7.4% and rival SK Hynix losing 10%. Japan’s technology sector also suffered, as Tokyo Electron declined 7.15% and SoftBank Group fell 8.5%.
In the United States, chipmakers including Micron Technology, Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom also recorded losses as concerns over high valuations and the sustainability of AI spending weighed on investor confidence.
Tan said many investors had little understanding of the companies they were backing and were setting expectations that could prove difficult to meet. He also questioned whether the rapid growth in AI revenue would translate into sustainable profits, pointing to the substantial cost of training advanced models.
His comments came as Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) reported progress on a new dynamic random-access memory architecture. The development raised concerns that Chinese competitors could challenge established manufacturers, including Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron.
The sell-off reflects growing uncertainty over whether heavy spending on AI infrastructure will generate returns sufficient to justify current market valuations. Technology companies have committed substantial sums to data centres and computing capacity, with some relying on debt to finance expansion.
For investors, the combination of rising competition and questions about profitability has increased pressure on a sector that has benefited significantly from the AI boom.
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