NVIDIA's rally amid intensifying global AI competition fuels expectations of rekindled AI investment.

OpenAI demonstrated the intensifying competition in the AI market by sending an internal document criticizing its main competitor, Anthropic, to its shareholders. Even amidst this competitive landscape, NVIDIA's stock price recorded its longest winning streak since 2023, raising expectations that AI-related investments could regain momentum. This, along with the fierce competition among companies surrounding AI technology development and infrastructure construction, is once again highlighting the growth potential of related hardware and software industries.

What Happened

According to a recent CNBC report, OpenAI criticized its main AI competitor, Anthropic, in an internal memo sent to shareholders, stating it is operating on a 'significantly smaller curve,' signaling a competitive stance. This clearly illustrates the fierce competition among leading players in the AI market. Amidst this intensifying competition, Nvidia's stock, a key pillar of AI infrastructure, has quietly shown strength, recording its longest winning streak since 2023. This suggests that AI infrastructure investment is regaining momentum alongside the AI technology development race, potentially reigniting optimism across the entire related industry.

Why It Matters

AI technology is a core driver of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and its pace of development and market potential remain enormous. The competition between OpenAI and Anthropic will accelerate innovation in AI model performance, cost efficiency, and business models. Concurrently, Nvidia's strength underscores to the market that demand for high-performance semiconductors, essential infrastructure for the AI era, remains robust, and that long-term growth drivers are still valid despite monetization pressures on AI-related companies. This is a significant turning point, extending the existing chain of events diagnosed on April 9 as 'Surging AI Infrastructure Costs and Intensifying Monetization Pressure' and on April 8 as 'Accelerating Changes in the AI Industry Landscape,' demonstrating that the AI industry is entering a new growth phase through competition and technological innovation. The growth of the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) and related equipment markets, necessary for AI infrastructure construction, is also expected to accompany this trend.

Impact on the Korean Market

The intensifying global AI competition and Nvidia's upward trend are expected to positively impact the South Korean semiconductor industry. Domestic companies leading the HBM market, in particular, will directly benefit from the increased demand for AI chips. This could improve investor sentiment in the semiconductor sector on the domestic stock market and brighten the earnings outlook for related companies. Furthermore, the AI technology development competition could lead to increased investment in AI services and software, offering new opportunities for domestic IT service companies. However, continuous technological investment and innovation are essential for domestic companies to gain an advantage in direct competition with global AI firms. Increased demand for raw materials like copper, necessary for AI infrastructure construction, is also anticipated, which could positively impact related raw material prices.

Key Stock Analysis

Samsung Electronics (005930), SK Hynix (000660): Increased demand for AI chips directly translates into expanded demand for high-performance memory semiconductors, including HBM. Both companies, as major suppliers in the HBM market, are poised to emerge as key beneficiaries of AI industry growth. (Sentiment: positive)
Hanmi Semiconductor (042700), HPSP (403870): As suppliers of essential equipment for HBM production, these companies are expected to directly benefit from the expansion of AI infrastructure investment. HPSP, in particular, plays a crucial role in next-generation semiconductor processes with its high-pressure hydrogen annealing equipment. (Sentiment: positive)
NAVER (035420): Intensifying global AI competition could exert pressure on domestic AI companies regarding technology development and service commercialization. However, as it continues to develop its own AI models and invest in cloud infrastructure, its mid-to-long-term growth drivers remain valid. (Sentiment: neutral)
Copper (COPPER): The construction of AI data centers and the production of high-performance computing equipment require vast amounts of power and cooling systems, which will increase demand for conductive metals like copper. (Sentiment: positive)
US 10-Year Treasury (US10Y): While the growth of the AI industry can contribute to long-term economic productivity improvement and growth rate enhancement, its direct impact on the interest rate market is expected to be limited in the short term. (Sentiment: neutral)

Future Scenarios

Optimistic Scenario: If AI technology competition accelerates innovation and AI infrastructure investment continues to expand, the semiconductor and related hardware industries will enter a long-term growth trajectory. Domestic HBM companies could maintain a strong leadership position in the global market and drive earnings growth.

Pessimistic Scenario: If AI technology development costs increase faster than expected, or if the monetization of AI models is delayed, investor sentiment could weaken. Furthermore, if competition among global AI companies intensifies and leads to a price war, the possibility of margin pressure on related companies cannot be ruled out. Investors should closely monitor Nvidia's earnings announcements, the investment plans of major AI companies, and supply-demand trends in the HBM market.