AI Investment Hinges on Funding; Key Variable Shaking the Chip Market - Seoul Economic Daily

Recent reporting by Seoul Economic Daily indicates that artificial intelligence (AI) investment is increasingly dependent on adequate funding support, a key variable reshaping the global chip market. ... Read original →

The AI chip race has shifted from pure technology to a test of financial endurance. The massive capex required for 3nm and EUV processes is straining TSMC (Taiwan, China) and others, while NVIDIA’s roadmap hinges on sustained low-cost funding. Delays ripple upstream, stalling co-optimization with HBM and advanced packaging like CoWoS. Geopolitical friction—U.S. export controls and mismatched EU Chips Act subsidies—is inflating supply chain redundancy costs. Samsung may exploit this by pushing mature-node AI-optimized chips into mid-tier markets, eroding NVIDIA’s inference dominance. Over the next 12–24 months, fabless players without sovereign backing will exit rapidly, accelerating consolidation. The AI hardware ecosystem is poised to bifurcate into a TSMC-NVIDIA axis versus a Samsung-led alternative coalition.