AMD chair and chief executive Lisa Su toured Taiwan and South Korea this week, meeting chipmakers and memory suppliers to address a persistent supply crunch. She reiterated a pledge to invest tens of billions of dollars tied to the region's supply chain, while saying memory remains overall supply-constrained. The visit lands as investors watch AMD and its semiconductor peers for signs the AI buildout cycle still has room to run.
Advanced Micro Devices chair and chief executive Lisa Su spent the week meeting semiconductor manufacturers and AI companies in Taipei and Seoul, striking an upbeat tone on demand even as she works to secure scarce chip supplies. During press conferences on consecutive days, Su said memory remains overall supply-constrained, underscoring the pressure facing AI chipmakers: According to MarketWatch: "memory is overall supply-constrained".
Taiwan visit reaffirms investment pledge
On Tuesday, Su met with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Foxconn, thanking her suppliers and reiterating a pledge made in spring of this year to invest $10 billion in Taiwan.
South Korea talks target the memory crunch
Wednesday, Su traveled to South Korea for discussions with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics on tackling the memory crunch as demand for high-bandwidth memory chips continues to far exceed production. She also held talks with 13 AI-related companies at a gamer-day event in Yongsan-gu. With Samsung, AMD has been discussing not just chip supplies but possible foundry cooperation using Samsung's most advanced process technology, according to reports.
Sector faces scrutiny ahead of earnings
AMD's stock has rallied more than 200% so far in 2026, with its market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion in September, as Su pushes production of AI accelerators that require large quantities of high-performance memory chips such as HBM4 from SK Hynix. But the broader chip sector still faces skepticism: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped by roughly a third in August before rebounding in the second half of September, and SK Hynix and Samsung remain roughly 30% below their July all-time highs. The Semiconductor Industry Association reported that global semiconductor sales jumped 144% year over year in August, a figure analysts will weigh against Samsung's preliminary earnings due Thursday and SK Hynix's full third-quarter results on Oct. 27.
In pre-market trading Wednesday, AMD shares were 0.89% lower around $644. Samsung shares fell 1.29% on the KOSPI, and SK Hynix's Nasdaq-listed depositary receipts indicated a 0.47% decline.
Source: MarketWatch
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