SEOUL / NEW YORK — Booming AI chip demand helps create two new $1tn club members as memory chipmakers SK Hynix and Micron Technology saw their stock market valuations surge past the trillion-dollar mark this week, joining the ranks of Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta. South Korea’s SK Hynix, a key supplier to AI chip giant Nvidia, jumped 10% on Wednesday, continuing a rally that has seen its share price more than triple since the start of the year. US-based Micron rose almost 20% on Tuesday after investment bank UBS tripled its price target for the company. Both firms now sit among the world’s most valuable corporations, not for making the GPUs that train AI models, but for making the high-bandwidth memory those chips cannot function without.

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Why Memory Makers Are Surging

Every AI data centre requires high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to feed data to the GPUs that train large language models. NVIDIA’s most advanced chips cannot operate without it. SK Hynix supplies the majority of that memory to Nvidia. Micron supplies the rest.

UBS tripled its price target for Micron because analysts concluded the global memory chip shortage would persist through 2027. The lead times for new semiconductor fabrication capacity are measured in years, while demand signals from AI data centre construction are measured in weeks UBS research note, 26 May 2026.

The memory makers are not riding the AI boom. They are constraining it. Pricing power has shifted from the buyers — Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon — to the suppliers. The trillion-dollar valuations reflect the market’s acknowledgment of that structural shift.

How the AI memory bottleneck is reshaping the semiconductor supply chain

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The Samsung Signal

Samsung Electronics joined the $1 trillion club earlier in May, becoming only the second Asian firm to reach the milestone after Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC. Samsung’s shares jumped another 6% on Wednesday after union members voted in favour of a pay deal, averting a strike that threatened to disrupt its semiconductor output Samsung Electronics union vote announcement, 27 May 2026.

Samsung is both a memory manufacturer and a foundry. NVIDIA is among its customers. The labour peace is strategically significant. A strike at Samsung’s fabrication plants would have further tightened the memory supply, shifting even more pricing power to SK Hynix and Micron.

The Kospi, South Korea’s benchmark stock index dominated by tech firms, hit a fresh record high on Wednesday. The rally is concentrated in the semiconductor names that sit between Nvidia and the data centres.

Samsung’s $1tn milestone — what it means for the global chip industry

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The Broader AI Valuation Landscape

NVIDIA became the first company to reach a 5trillionstockmarketvalueinOctober.MicrosoftandApplehavebothcrossedthe5trillion stock market value in October. Microsoft and Apple have both crossed the 4 trillion mark. The memory makers’ ascent to the $1 trillion club reflects a broadening of the AI rally beyond the platform companies and GPU designers.

NVIDIA continues to report record sales, though there have been growing concerns over increased competition in the sector. The company’s valuation was built on the assumption that memory supply would keep pace with GPU demand. That assumption is now in question.

Some investors have warned of a potential AI bubble. The memory makers’ case differs from the platform companies’. NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Apple trade partly on expectations of future AI revenue. SK Hynix and Micron trade on current revenue from products already sold out through the next fiscal year. The risk is not that AI demand fails to materialise. It is hoped that the memory shortage resolves faster than expected through new capacity or technological substitution.

Nvidia’s $5tn milestone — can the AI chip boom sustain its pace?

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FAQ: AI Chip Demand and $1tn Valuations 2026

Why did SK Hynix and Micron reach $1tn valuations?

Both companies manufacture high-bandwidth memory chips essential for AI data centres. A global memory chip shortage has driven prices higher and shifted pricing power to suppliers. UBS analysts expect the shortage to persist through 2027.

What is high-bandwidth memory?

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) is a type of memory chip that feeds data to the GPUs used to train AI models. NVIDIA’s most advanced chips cannot function without it. SK Hynix and Micron are the dominant suppliers.

Is Samsung also in the $ 1 T club?

Yes. Samsung Electronics joined the $1 trillion club earlier in May. It is both a memory manufacturer and a semiconductor foundry, with Nvidia among its customers.

Is there an AI bubble?

Some investors have warned of one. The memory makers’ case differs because they trade on current revenue from products already sold out, rather than on expectations of future AI revenue that may not materialise.

Which companies are in the $1tn club?

NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are among the companies with valuations above $1 trillion.

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Written by the Business Desk, drawing on UBS research, SK Hynix and Micron market data, Samsung Electronics announcements, and the Kospi index performance. The desk has covered the semiconductor industry and global technology markets for over 15 years.

Published: 27 May 2026 | Source: UBS, SK Hynix, Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics, Kospi