A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session as investors reacted to news of Google’s new TurboQuant algorithm, a tool that threatens to significantly reduce memory requirements for artificial intelligence models.
The market’s interpretation is that this increased efficiency could lead to a structural decrease in demand for memory chips, sparking a sector-wide sell-off. Sandisk saw its stock fall by as much as 8%. The concerns generated by Google’s announcement overshadowed recent strong earnings from memory-makers. Adding to the sector’s headwinds are reports that competitor SK Hynix is considering a potential $14 billion U.S. listing, which would increase competitive supply pressure in the market.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
Amkor’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 40 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock gained 6.6% on the news that the Trump administration announced a plan to create a voluntary investment consortium targeting $4 trillion in funding for semiconductor supply chains, energy projects, and critical minerals. The initiative, an expansion of the ‘Pax Silica’ program launched in December 2025, aims to secure access to AI and chipmaking for the U.S. and its allies. According to reports, the U.S. government will contribute an initial $250 million toward the ambitious goal. This move signals strong government support for the domestic and allied chip industry, boosting investor confidence. The prospect of significant capital infusion into the sector could lead to the development of new manufacturing facilities, research advancements, and a more resilient global supply chain, benefiting chipmakers and related technology companies.
