Almost every important conversation in global technology, from boardrooms to public forums and even on trading floors where investors debate whether the boom can last, has been about artificial intelligence. One of the most important people in the tech industry in South Korea has given a measured opinion on the quick rise of AI stocks. He agreed that the sector is moving at an incredible pace, but he also said that the excitement may have caused prices to rise too quickly. Over the past year, the argument over whether AI is entering bubble territory has gotten stronger. This is especially true as stock prices in companies that make advanced chips and computing infrastructure keep rising at record speeds.
The head of South Korea’s SK Group, which owns the well-known memory chip maker SK Hynix, talked about this quickly growing worry at a recent forum in Seoul. His point of view comes at a time when AI-related companies have outperformed almost every other industry in Asia, the US, and Europe. People talk about bubbles a lot, and it shows how worried investors are about big price changes that may not fully reflect the progress being made in technology. People at the forum asked the chairman directly if an AI bubble could form, and he gave a more level-headed answer. When asked about fears that were growing, he gave an answer that was both cautious and comforting. “I don’t see a bubble in (the AI industry),” he said, based on his years of experience in South Korea’s tech industry.
But he didn’t completely ignore the risks. He even said that stock prices have risen much faster than the companies that own them. “But when you look at the stock markets, they went up too quickly and too much. I think it’s normal for there to be some corrections,” he said. His statement shows a pattern that has been seen in previous waves of innovation, especially in fast-moving fields like the internet age, smartphones, and even earlier semiconductor booms. Markets often react faster than industries can make long-term profits, and they sometimes go too far and go above fair value. But just because this happens doesn’t mean that an industry is going to fail. It just means that changes are likely to happen.
His comment that AI stocks have been going up beyond their real value showed that investors are becoming more worried. Analysts have been warning for months that big gains, especially in companies that are driving the AI infrastructure boom, could lead to pullbacks. This doesn’t change the fact that there is an amazing technological change happening. The chairman said that “overshooting” is not new in a growing industry. Investors have often put a lot of money on the line for technologies that will change the world, even before they see a clear commercial benefit. AI development is following a pattern that has happened many times before when a new technology promises to change the way the world works. Every phase starts with doubt, then excitement, and finally a rush of investment. After this pattern, there is usually a time of rational realignment before long-term growth really starts.
He is confident in the AI sector because it could lead to big gains in productivity in many fields. Businesses in logistics, finance, and healthcare are all using automation and machine learning tools in their daily work. Even early versions of generative AI have been able to speed up research and cut down on inefficiencies in the way things are done. These changes can have a big effect on economies, slowly changing the way businesses compete. When industry leaders say that productivity is a key driver of value, they support the idea that AI’s effects will go far beyond short-term changes in the stock market. For companies like SK Hynix, the current rise in demand for advanced chips is just the start of a change that will have a much bigger impact than just quarterly profits.
The chairman’s point of view is even more important because SK Hynix is such a big player in the global memory chip market. The company makes high-end chips that power some of the most advanced AI hardware in the world, like Nvidia’s powerful chipsets used in data centers and research labs. SK Hynix’s stock price rose an amazing 214 percent over the past year as the building of AI data centers picked up speed. These data centers are the backbone of AI models. They need a lot of computing power and fast memory to train and run smoothly. The amount of money that companies around the world have put into expanding capacity is mind-boggling. A lot of this demand comes from the quick use of large language models, recommendation systems, and image processing apps in many different fields.
Even with those amazing gains, the chairman’s caution seems to be based on experience rather than fear. The tech world has been in this situation before. Markets often get ahead of technology and then change when they see how it affects the real world. His comments were similar to what industry leaders have said for decades: innovation tends to move forward steadily, even when the markets around it change a lot. Stock corrections are just a normal part of the process. Investors may take a step back and reevaluate, but the general direction of technological progress almost never changes.
A number of economists have said that worries about AI valuations are also a sign of a larger lack of certainty about timing. Companies have put more money into AI infrastructure than ever before, but the road to making money is still bumpy in some sectors. Some companies have already seen immediate benefits from automation and predictive modeling, while others are still testing them out without seeing any clear short-term benefits. This unevenness makes the market more volatile, which makes some investors question whether the pace of investment can be kept up. In this situation, the chairman’s comments bring balance. He changes the story about AI from a speculative frenzy to a realistic long-term growth by saying that corrections are normal instead of catastrophic.
His comments also suggest that South Korea’s tech leaders have a better understanding of their own culture. Both big investments and steady strategic planning have helped the country rise quickly in technology. Companies like his have seen how big changes in technology happen up close. They understand the difference between unsustainable hype and genuine transformation. Their outlook is built not on abstract forecasting but on decades of navigating highly competitive global markets. When someone in his position says the industry is not in a bubble, it shows that they are sure because they know how things work.
As AI continues evolving, the sentiments shared by the SK Group chairman suggest a future shaped by measured optimism. The industry may experience adjustments and short-term market pullbacks, but the underlying transformation remains deeply powerful. Investors, policymakers and innovators will likely continue grappling with questions about timing, returns and long-term value. The uncertainty can feel unsettling, especially as stock prices soar at unprecedented speeds. But his remarks offer a reminder that technological revolutions rarely follow smooth financial paths. They unfold in waves, shaped by experimentation, learning and recalibration.
