Asia’s AI Chip Race Ignites: NVIDIA Leads, Region Soars

Nvidia’s annual shareholder meeting (25 Jun) played out like a CNBC highlight reel. CEO Jensen Huang — wearing his trademark leather jacket — told Squawk on the Street that Blackwell AI GPUs are now

“in full production as planned, and the demand is insane — everybody wants to be first"

The Asian tech landscape is ablaze with innovation, and the AI chip race is at its heart. From Tokyo to Taipei, a resurgent rally in tech stocks signals a new era of growth, with NVIDIA at the forefront and Asia’s semiconductor giants charging alongside. As artificial intelligence reshapes industries, Asia’s chipmakers are seizing a multitrillion-dollar opportunity, fueled by robust demand and easing U.S.-China tensions. This is not just a market rebound—it’s a technological renaissance.

NVIDIA, the undisputed titan of AI, is setting the pace. Its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results, announced in May 2025, showcased a staggering $44.1 billion in revenue, up 69% year-over-year, with data center chips driving $39.1 billion alone. Despite a $4.5 billion hit from U.S. export curbs on its H20 chips for China, NVIDIA’s stock soared to a record high on June 25, 2025, reclaiming its crown as the world’s most valuable company at $3.76 trillion - knocking Microsoft from the number #1 position. 

CEO Jensen Huang, speaking at the annual shareholder meeting, declared AI and robotics a “multitrillion-dollar growth opportunity,” igniting investor fervor. His vision of AI’s evolution—powered by NVIDIA’s Blackwell chips, now scaling with hyperscalers like Microsoft—has cemented the company’s leadership. At the shareholder meeting, Huang told attendees,

“We have many growth opportunities across our company, with AI and robotics the two largest, representing a multitrillion-dollar growth opportunity.”

A little more than a year ago, Nvidia changed the way it reported its business units to group both its automotive and robotics divisions into the same line item. Last month, Nvidia said the business unit had $567 million in quarterly sales, or about 1% of the company’s total revenue. Automotive and robotics was up 72% on an annual basis.

NVIDIA’s influence now extends well beyond corporate boardrooms and hyperscaler partnerships. National governments are beginning to align their AI ambitions with NVIDIA’s platform. In France, a state-backed initiative is building its AI infrastructure on NVIDIA’s technology — supporting breakthroughs in research, industry, and higher education.

Jensen Huang highlighted this shift during a recent presentation, where he discussed NVIDIA’s role in powering national AI infrastructure — including initiatives like France’s.

That same momentum is rippling through Asia, where NVIDIA’s success is lifting the region’s entire chip ecosystem. Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is a linchpin, manufacturing NVIDIA’s cutting-edge AI chips and planning six new fabs in Arizona to meet demand. TSMC’s stock has climbed 24% since April 2025, reflecting its critical role.

South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, powering NVIDIA’s high-bandwidth memory, are riding the KOSPI’s 28% surge, with SK Hynix shares up nearly 2% post-NVIDIA earnings. Japan’s Advantest, a chip-testing equipment leader, has seen its stock skyrocket 110% since April, hitting a record high. Even Hong Kong’s tech-adjacent players like NetEase Cloud Music, up 109%, are thriving in this AI-driven boom.

The region’s momentum is undeniable. The ICE Asia Tech 30 Index, tracking Asia-Pacific’s top tech firms, is up 19% in 2025, outpacing the Nasdaq. 

“Investors are betting on stocks with medium- to long-term growth potential amid geopolitical uncertainties,” says Masahiro Ichikawa,

chief market strategist at Mitsui Sumitomo DS Asset Management. Easing trade tensions, including the rescinding of Biden’s AI Diffusion Rule, have further boosted confidence, though Trump’s tariff policies remain a wildcard.

Asia’s indices light up

The Blackwell ramp is already reflected in Asia’s equity markets, where major indices are showing strong gains driven by AI demand.

Memory is the immediate choke-point. South Korea’s big two say all HBM-4 capacity is spoken for through late-2026, with Samsung warning that any mis-step will “leave money on the table.”

Challenges persist—China’s Huawei is accelerating domestic chip development, and NVIDIA faces an $8 billion revenue loss in Q2 from export curbs. Yet, Asia’s chipmakers are undeterred. 

Pruksa Iamthongthong, Senior Investment Director at Aberdeen Investments, notes:

“Earnings results have been strong across Taiwan and South Korea’s tech supply chain, driven by AI demand.”

She points to the region’s strength across the value chain — from TSMC’s advanced packaging to Advantest’s precision testing — as clear proof of Asia’s rise as a global semiconductor powerhouse.

This is Asia’s moment. NVIDIA’s trailblazing innovation, paired with the region’s semiconductor might, is rewriting the tech narrative. South Korea’s policy support, Taiwan’s manufacturing dominance, and Japan’s precision engineering are converging to fuel the AI revolution. As chips power everything from data centers to autonomous vehicles, Asia’s tech titans are not just competing—they’re defining the future. Buckle up: the AI chip race is only accelerating, and Asia is in the driver’s seat.

Bottom line

The CNBC sound-bites were punchy, but the underlying thesis is sober: Blackwell’s volume ramp is real, margin-accretive and structurally bullish for Asia’s semiconductor value chain. Unless Washington slams the brakes or HBM yields crack, Nvidia’s “insane” pipeline is set to keep regional tech stocks in overdrive well into 2026. For now, the chip race still starts — and most likely ends — with Jensen Huang’s stopwatch.