OpenAI, SpaceX funding fuels bets on next-wave Asian AI winners

The biggest tech fundraises in history are happening in the US. The biggest winners might be in Asia.

A wave of capital flowing into American AI companies, headlined by OpenAI’s Stargate project and SpaceX’s impending IPO, is creating a gravitational pull on Asian component suppliers. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea’s memory chip titans, have seen their stock prices explode this year as investors connect the dots between US AI ambitions and the Asian companies that actually build the hardware making it all possible.

The trillion-dollar supply chain

On October 1, 2025, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix signed letters of intent with OpenAI to supply high-bandwidth memory chips for the Stargate project. The estimated value of the Stargate-related chip supply deals exceeds $71 billion over four years, roughly 100 trillion Korean won.

OpenAI’s infrastructure roadmap calls for 900,000 semiconductor wafers to be produced by 2029, with discussions underway about potentially establishing data centers in South Korea itself.

The market has noticed. SK Hynix shares have climbed 258% year-to-date, while Samsung Electronics is up 158% over the same period. Both companies now carry valuations exceeding $1 trillion. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index hit record highs in May 2026, propelled almost entirely by AI-related capital expenditure optimism and the performance of memory chip stocks.

SpaceX enters the picture

SpaceX, which merged with Elon Musk’s xAI, filed for its IPO in May 2026 with a target valuation between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion. The company aims to raise up to $80 billion during its offering, which would make it the largest IPO in history by a considerable margin. The planned Nasdaq debut is set for June 12, under the ticker SPCX.

Samsung and SK Hynix are two of approximately three companies on Earth capable of producing the high-bandwidth memory that modern AI systems require. The third is Micron, based in Idaho.

The Asian AI trade takes shape

The $71 billion in Stargate-related deals alone represents a transformative amount of revenue for Samsung and SK Hynix. OpenAI isn’t the only buyer. Anthropic is advancing its own IPO timeline. Meta, Google, and Microsoft continue to pour billions into AI infrastructure. Each of these companies needs the same type of advanced memory chips, and the supply base is remarkably concentrated.

The KOSPI’s record highs reflect this concentration of demand meeting a narrow supply base. South Korean markets have effectively become a leveraged bet on global AI spending, with memory chip stocks acting as the primary vehicle for that exposure.

What this means for investors

On the bullish side, the demand visibility is exceptional. Samsung and SK Hynix have signed agreements with specific delivery timelines stretching to 2029.

The bearish case centers on valuation and concentration risk. Both companies are already up triple digits year-to-date. The 258% run in SK Hynix means a lot of the good news is already reflected in the share price, and any hiccup in AI spending plans could trigger sharp reversals.

There’s also geopolitical risk that shouldn’t be ignored. South Korea’s chipmakers sit at the intersection of US-China tech competition. Export controls, trade tensions, or shifts in US industrial policy could complicate the narrative of Asian suppliers riding the American AI wave.

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