Chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix secured a huge wave of investment, a sign of the AI boom rewarding firms building the infrastructure powering the technology more than those at the forefront of developing it.
The combined valuation of South Korea’s two biggest companies by market capitalization reached $1.1 trillion, surpassing the total for China’s two largest tech companies, Alibaba and Tencent.
The symbolic change showcased how Korea’s picks-and-shovels approach — becoming vital to a specific part of the tech supply chain — aligns with an approach favored by big-name investors: A top BlackRock executive argued recently that companies that mine for copper, generate power, or build semiconductors were more lucrative bets than the hyperscalers that garner headlines.
