[Market Focus] Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Weaken on News of Alibaba's AI Chip Development

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are both experiencing declines following news of Alibaba's in-house artificial intelligence (AI) chip development, compounded by additional restrictions on bringing U.S.-made equipment into their factories in China.

As of 9:33 a.m. on September 1, 2025, at the Korea Exchange, Samsung Electronics was trading at 68,200 won, down 1,500 won (2.15%) from the previous session. SK Hynix was trading at 260,000 won, a decrease of 9,000 won (3.35%).

Previously, on August 29 (local time), the U.S. government announced that it would remove the Chinese factories of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix from the "Validated End-User (VEU)" program. In October 2022, the U.S. government effectively banned the import of semiconductor equipment into China to curb the Chinese semiconductor industry. However, companies with VEU status were allowed to bring U.S.-made equipment into China without separate approval. With the revocation of VEU status for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, starting next year, they will be required to obtain individual approvals for every import of U.S.-made semiconductor equipment into their factories in China.

Additionally, the news of Alibaba developing its own AI chip also had a negative impact. On August 29, the U.S. stock market saw a sharp decline in technology stocks after it was reported that the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba had developed a next-generation AI chip in-house. The share prices of Nvidia and Broadcom both fell by more than 3%.

Ryu Youngho, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, stated, "Concerns in the market about Nvidia and its ecosystem are growing due to China's semiconductor development initiatives," adding, "In the short term, domestic semiconductor investment sentiment may also weaken." He continued, "However, in the mid- to long-term, the increasing importance of memory in AI could present new opportunities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.