Memory makers ride AI demand as chip shortage concerns deepen

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix reported record-breaking second-quarter earnings as AI memory demand accelerated. Samsung’s semiconductor division saw profits grow over 250-fold even as its smartphone unit posted its first-ever operating loss, while Samsung secured a $200 billion AI chip partnership with Broadcom through 2030 and committed up to 70% of its memory capacity in long-term deals. The company warned that a severe global AI chip shortage could persist until 2028.

Nvidia broadened its AI strategy with a reported $5 billion investment in Safe Superintelligence and possible involvement in a $500 billion infrastructure project with OpenAI, moves that raised market concerns about artificial demand inflation. TSMC resumed operations at its Japan plant following an earthquake and began producing Nvidia’s first Arizona-made AI GPUs, while Intel completed its RAMP-C program to support domestic high-volume production.

Arm and Kioxia also posted strong results, with Arm revenue rising 22% on AI demand and Kioxia reporting record Q1 revenue alongside plans for a 3-for-1 stock split and an 800 billion yen share buyback. Chinese semiconductor firms reportedly developed domestic immersion deep ultraviolet lithography tools, while AMD secured a 500 MW infrastructure deal with Core Scientific, Qualcomm acquired Modular and Taiwanese authorities investigated an Nvidia employee over alleged chip smuggling.