At the same time, SoftBank Group shares fell by more than 12%. This intensified the sell-off in Asia, which began after new pricing decisions from Apple and Microsoft. Both companies effectively showed the market that the rising costs of AI chips have already reached ordinary consumers.
South Korea’s KOSPI also quickly dropped. After closing on June 25 at 8,930.31 points, the index at the start of Friday trading fell to about 8,600.
The AI Chip Crisis Reaches Consumers
On June 25, Apple raised prices for MacBook and iPad. In some versions, the increase reached $300. The company explained this by a sharp rise in the cost of memory and storage, driven by demand from data centers for artificial intelligence. After the announcement, Apple shares closed down more than 6%.
A few hours later, Microsoft also raised prices. Starting August 1, Xbox consoles will increase by $100–150 depending on the model. Microsoft shares then lost 3.5%.
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For investors, this was an unpleasant signal. The AI chip shortage no longer seems like just a problem for manufacturers and suppliers. Now, buyers are seeing it too, simply through more expensive devices.
Asia Takes the Main Hit
On Friday, Asian tech companies felt the pressure the most. In South Korea, SK Hynix and Samsung lost more than 4%. SK Square, which is heavily tied to semiconductors, fell by about 7%.
Japan was also weak. Advantest fell by more than 6%, Tokyo Electron lost over 2%.
KOSPI fell amid a drop in SK Hynix and Samsung shares. Source: TradingView.
For SoftBank , the problems turned out to be more than just general market negativity. Its subsidiary Arm Holdings, which develops chips, lost 3.2% overnight. This looked especially weak given that some AI stocks were already trying to recover.
At Ortus Advisors, they believe that interest in SoftBank may be held back by another factor. There are reports that OpenAI may postpone its IPO to 2027. According to media, the company is struggling to find enough demand at a valuation of $1 trillion. For SoftBank this is important, as it remains one of the notable investors in OpenAI.
Strategist Miller Tabak’s Matt Maley said that the first cracks have already appeared in the tech sector.
“Recently, the first cracks have appeared in the tech sector. Therefore, it will be extremely important to watch how the largest tech companies trade going forward. If they continue to decline, it will be much harder for the whole market to grow,” he said.
Some of the negativity was offset by a strong report from Micron and a Qualcomm deal with Meta for AI chips for data centers. But for SoftBank this is little consolation. The company has bet too heavily on AI infrastructure, so any continued sector repricing will hit it harder than many other players.
