Nasdaq futures slumped and technology shares slid in Japan on Monday as surging popularity of a Chinese discount artificial intelligence model wobbled investors' faith in the profitability of AI and the sector's voracious demand for high-tech chips.

DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial-intelligence chatbot, has shocked Silicon Valley with its cost-effective approach—and rattled global tech investors. Shares in Japan’s [SoftBank Group](

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son is shifting his focus away from investments in China and toward the US, as seen with his involvement with President Donald Trump and the recently announced Stargate.

“The selloff in Japan and U.S. tech names should not be a surprise given high valuations based on P/E and P/B ratios. With the current rate of P/E priced for some U.S. and Japan tech names, the market is expecting future earnings to continue to justify the high prices of these tech names. That is definitely a high expectation to meet.”

DeepSeek, founded by quant fund chief Liang Wenfeng released its latest AI model just last week and is now seen as a competitor to OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc

In international markets, chipmaking and electrification companies saw pressure on the fears over the DeepSeek AI service. SoftBank -- the company that said it would fund up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure as well as the main shareholder of microchip designer ARM -- saw its stock dive 8%.

On the second day of his presidency on Tuesday, Donald Trump announced the Stargate Project, a $500 billion joint venture among OpenAI, Softbank, Oracle, and MGX, to build AI-focused data centres across the US.

Investors will be looking out for Malaysia’s central bank policy meeting today, where it’s expected to keep its policy rate steady at 3%.

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after China rolled out more moves to try to boost its lagging stock markets by raising confidence that prices will rise.

President Donald Trump has announced the Stargate initiative, a significant collaboration involving OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, with an initial investment of $100 billion. The project aims to enhance the U.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's plan to invest billions in AI in the United States shows one way to handle the new Trump administration: go big and deal with the details later.

Shares of Japanese chip-related firms were feeling the heat on Monday. Today’s slump comes as Chinese AI startup DeepSeek gained traction with its updated AI model, raising fears about potential challenges to US technological dominance.