Shares in chipmakers have surged in the first half of this year as investors piled into companies that make the hardware underpinning the AI boom, according to analysis.

Investors have driven up the value of semiconductor and memory chip manufacturers, whose profits have soared during 2026, at the expense of some large software companies, which have fallen out of favour this year.

The share price of some chip companies has tripled, or more, since the start of January, driving Asia Pacific stock markets sharply higher.

South Korea’s Kospi index is up 123% this year, its strongest first half since at least 1990, Guardian analysis of data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed. This was driven by the electronics group Samsung, whose…