Chipmakers in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan have avoided broad helium-related production disruptions so far, but their rapid shift toward US supply is creating a new concentration risk.

Driven by robust AI-related demand for advanced packaging and testing, ASE Technology Holding has raised its 2026 capital expenditure budget for a second time this year to a record US$10.5 billion, up from its original plan of US$8.5 billion.

Pegatron chairman Tzu-hsien Tung said that although he is not an investment expert, from an industry perspective he remains optimistic about the long-term outlook for artificial intelligence (AI), despite recent volatility in the capital markets sparking debate over whether the AI boom has begun to fade. While short-term markets are inevitably subject to intense fluctuations driven by international events, what matters more is the strength of Taiwan’s industrial base, with AI driving growth across upstream, midstream, and downstream supply chains and gradually expanding from a single “silicon shield” into a broader “mountain range” of strategic industries.

Concerns over whether AI is a bubble hinge on two key questions: can related investments be monetized, and will cloud service providers (CSPs) keep expanding capital spending? Based on Google, Microsoft, and Meta, the answer to both remains yes, underscoring the strength of AI fundamentals.