Chip shutdown, robots out of control—Is AI trading shifting to "physical AI"?

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The main line of AI investment in Asia is undergoing a significant shift. As chip stocks come under overall pressure, robotics and humanoid robot concept stocks are surging, and "physical AI" is starting to replace semiconductors as the new narrative pursued by capital in this round.

The most eye-catching ticker this week appeared in Seoul—LG Electronics soared by as much as 55% in a single week, topping the Asia-Pacific core benchmark index gainers list, after news broke that it was collaborating with Nvidia on humanoid robots. Japan's Fanuc rose 10% during the week after signing an AI industrial robotics development agreement with Alphabet’s Google. In China, LeDong Robotics saw its share price spike by as much as 150% on its first trading day in Hong Kong.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has recently continued to characterize humanoid and autonomous machines as the next major computing platform after generative AI. Market research institution MarketsandMarkets predicted last month that the physical AI market will grow at an average annual rate of 47%, reaching $15.2 billion by 2032.

"The rebound in robotics stocks reflects the AI cycle evolving from digital to physical deployment," said Allspring Global Investments portfolio manager Gary Tan. "'Physical AI' is becoming the next growth frontier in AI trading."

Individual stocks ignite in turn, Asian robotics concepts heat up across the board

This week on Asian markets, several robotics stocks were repeatedly catalyzed by specific events, creating rapid resonance.

LG Electronics was the biggest winner this week. News of its cooperation with Nvidia in the field of humanoid robots directly ignited the market, driving its share price up as much as 55% this week, making it the top performer among benchmark indexes in the Asia region.

Japan’s leading factory automation company Fanuc announced a partnership with Alphabet’s Google to jointly develop industrial robot AI capabilities, resulting in about a 10% stock price increase, demonstrating the market’s imagination for combining top AI software with traditional industrial hardware. Hyundai Motor of Korea was also boosted this week—according to reports, the Korean military is exploring a strategic partnership with the company, with potential directions including deploying robot technology in military scenarios.

In the Chinese market, LeDong Robotics surged more than 150% on its first day of listing in Hong Kong, adding another important note to the strong performance of the robotics sector this week.

Nvidia continues to endorse, tech giants strengthen physical AI deployments

The core driver of this wave is the successive moves by Nvidia and its allies.

Jensen Huang increasingly defines humanoid robots and autonomous machines as the most important new computing platform after generative AI in public settings, providing a strong narrative endorsement for the valuation expansion across the robotics track. News of Nvidia and LG Electronics’ collaboration in humanoid robots, as well as a series of previous collaborations with other Asian robotics firms, has in turn sparked sharp rallies in related stocks.

The partnership between Google and Fanuc further confirms from another dimension—that the combination of leading global AI software and Japan’s strength in factory automation hardware provides a concrete path for the AI upgrade of industrial robots and shows that tech platform companies regard physical AI as a vital strategic direction.

China, Japan, and Korea leverage their strengths to compete in the physical AI field

According to Bloomberg, in the regional competitive landscape of this field, China, Japan, and Korea each have comparative advantages and are accelerating their deployments.

China already holds a relatively leading first-mover advantage, continuing to expand its robot manufacturing capacity, while the application of domestic humanoid robots is frequently setting new records. On May 14, the 2nd Hangzhou International Humanoid Robot and Robotics Technology Expo 2026 officially opened at the Hangzhou Conference & Exhibition Center, with a three-day exhibition, 30,000 square meters of exhibition space gathering nearly 600 domestic and foreign enterprises including Unitree and Tesla, and frontier technologies like humanoid robots, core components, and brain-machine interfaces highlighted collectively, intuitively demonstrating the industrial agglomeration scale and commercialization progress of embodied intelligence in China.

With decades of deep accumulation in the field of factory automation, Japan is seen by the market as a powerful competitor in transitioning to physical AI. Korea, on the other hand, hopes to use the robotics field to broaden the overall profile of its AI industry beyond memory chips; partnerships like that between LG Electronics and Nvidia and Hyundai’s military robotics layout both reflect this strategic pursuit.

Amid the frenzy, implementation challenges remain key variables

Despite the sharp rally in robotics concept stocks, many market participants caution that this trade is still in an early stage and the challenges facing commercialization cannot be ignored.

"Physical AI must address safety, regulation, factories, supply chains, and customer trust, making it much more complex than generative AI," said Saxo Markets chief investment strategist Charu Chanana. "My view is that this is still a future opportunity, not an immediate scalable reality."

In addition to the uncertainty in the commercialization timeline, robotics-related companies also face the test of whether actual profitability can support valuations after large share price increases—a common challenge for high-growth sectors. The current strength in Asian robotics stocks more reflects the market’s pricing of expected new AI growth points, and whether fundamentals can meet expectations remains an unresolved key variable.

Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market carries risks, and investment needs to be cautious. This article does not constitute individual investment advice, nor does it take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of any particular user. Users should consider whether any opinion, viewpoint, or conclusion in this article is consistent with their particular circumstances. Investing accordingly is at your own risk. ```