Broadcom's chief executive compared many artificial intelligence investors to "casino" gamblers on Tuesday, triggering a sharp selloff across global chip stocks.
The comments sparked losses in semiconductor shares across Asia. South Korea's Kospi index fell 6.25%, driven by investor exits from chip positions. Japan's Nikkei declined 1.8% and Taiwan's exchange lost nearly 2%, with TSMC down by a similar margin.
The timing coincided with an announcement from Chinese memory chip maker CXMT, which claimed progress on a new chip architecture. Samsung shares tumbled as part of the broader sector decline.
The Broadcom chief's comparison to casino gambling signals scepticism within the semiconductor industry about whether current AI investment levels reflect genuine demand or speculative excess. The remarks appeared to crystallize investor concerns about valuations and capital allocation in the AI infrastructure boom.