AI spending surge fuels semiconductor sell‑off as SOXX drops 23%

AI spending semiconductor selloff SOXX cloud capex AI data centers

The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) plunged 23% in July, marking its worst monthly decline since the 2008 financial crisis. The sell‑off was driven by concerns that the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure spending may not be sustainable, prompting heightened volatility across chip stocks.

Major cloud providers Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Meta and Oracle raised their 2026 capital‑expenditure targets, together committing roughly $830 billion to AI‑related data‑center investments. This massive cap‑ex spend underpins the demand for high‑performance semiconductors and power‑infrastructure such as high‑voltage direct‑current (HVDC) systems, a technology highlighted by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang as critical for the next AI wave focused on robotics and autonomous driving.

In China, the AI data‑center market reached 2.83 trillion yuan in 2025, up 41.2% year‑on‑year, reinforcing the global push for AI‑driven compute capacity. Hedge funds have begun reassessing concentrated positions in the sector; the AI‑focused fund Situational Awareness was forced to liquidate billions of dollars after margin calls triggered by the sharp price declines. The market’s turbulence featured intraday moves of at least 2% on every trading day in July.

The combined effect of soaring AI cap‑ex, supply‑chain shifts, and heightened investor caution has reshaped the semiconductor landscape, with both growth opportunities in AI‑centric power and cooling solutions and heightened risk for investors heavily weighted in the sector.

Entities

Alphabet Inc. · Amazon.com, Inc. · DaFa (DAF) · Darfon · Darfon (達發光通訊) · GlobalWafers · GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. · Jensen Huang · Jere Group · MediaTek Inc · Microsoft Corporation · Nanya Technology

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[○ 1 SOURCE] Jensen Huang said the next AI wave will focus on robotics, starting with autonomous driving, and highlighted HVDC as a key power‑infrastructure for AI data centres. technews.tw
[○ 1 SOURCE] A fire at GlobalWafers' Italian plant caused no injuries, no environmental damage, and limited impact to the 8‑inch line. tw.stock.yahoo.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] GlobalWafers' Q2 consolidated revenue was NT$152.1 billion, a 8.8 % increase quarter‑on‑quarter. tw.stock.yahoo.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Darfon's optical‑communication sales grew more than fourfold year‑on‑year and are expected to grow another threefold next year. www.peoplenews.tw
[○ 1 SOURCE] ChipMOS's July revenue was NT$67.85 billion, up 491% year‑on‑year. abmedia.io
[○ 1 SOURCE] GlobalWafers reported Q2 earnings of NT$7.9 per share and half‑year EPS of NT$11.87. tw.stock.yahoo.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Darfon posted Q2 revenue of NT$62.9 billion and EPS of NT$5.25. www.peoplenews.tw
[○ 1 SOURCE] Nanya Technology's July revenue was NT$438.68 billion, up 719 % year‑on‑year. abmedia.io
[○ 1 SOURCE] The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell 23% in July, its worst monthly slide since the 2008 financial crisis. www.fool.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Oracle raised their 2026 capital‑expenditure targets, together amounting to about $830 billion for AI infrastructure. www.fool.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Chinese AI‑data‑center market reached 2.83 trillion yuan in 2025, up 41.2% year‑on‑year. news.yesky.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 21 % in July, its worst monthly performance since 2008. www.hedgeweek.com