Why the AI bubble isn't a bubble at all, explains Merck’s next chairman

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Why the AI bubble isn't a bubble at all, explains Merck’s next chairman

Published: 15 Jan. 2026, 14:07 Updated: 15 Jan. 2026, 16:43

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kai Beckmann, the CEO of the Electronics Business of Merck, who was recently promoted to the chair of the whole Merck group, takes a photo after an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Jan. 7 at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. [SARAH CHEA]

[INTERVIEW]

LAS VEGAS — Kai Beckmann, newly-appointed Merck Group chair who currently serves as CEO of the Electronics Business of Merck, dismisses the skepticism surrounding a supposed AI bubble as overstated, insisting that it is a technology that is unequivocally here to “stay.”

He also brushed off concerns that supply constraints for some types of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) for automobiles would develop into a serious shortage.

“I've seen different kinds of bubbles — there was the famous dot-com bubble 25 years ago. The bubble was not the usage of technology, it was the expectation and the value of the company that has changed,” Beckmann said during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Jan. 7 at CES 2026 in Las Vegas.

“Some companies went out of business, some other companies were kind of reevaluated, but the proliferation of technology did not change,” he added.

The comment came as Merck's major clients like Samsung Electronics and TSMC stand to gain from the sharp increase in semiconductor orders tied to AI infrastructure growth.

Pointing to physical AI, the dominant theme permeating CES 2026, he said that the explosive momentum in robotics and autonomous driving — now among the world’s most closely watched industries — stands as compelling evidence.

“The benefit of using the technology is more prevalent than ever before. Robotics is a good example — all kinds of autonomous technologies cars use AI, so the bubble discussion is a bit exaggerated,” Beckmann said.

“There may be some exuberance, and this may lead to a bubble effect, but the technology is going to stay.”

Kai Beckmann, second from left, CEO of the Electronics Business of Merck, holds a meeting with SK hynix executives for further cooperation in chips at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. [SK HYNIX]

At this year’s trade show, companies from Korea, the United States and China raced to unveil their respective humanoid robots, while Nvidia electrified the global audience with the debut of Alpamayo, which it described as the world’s first autonomous driving AI, setting off a wave of industrywide reverberations.

Beckmann also expressed little concern over the tightening supply conditions in the memory chip market, arguing that the current shortage is far from alarming.

On the contrary, he suggested, it represents a favorable development for Merck, positioning the company to benefit from sustained structural demand rather than transient market distortions.

“In memory, the need for high bandwidth memory [HBM] is new with AI. So many have then contributed to HBM and a lot of DRAM as well, which of course in the end creates a shortage,” he said. “There is a different demand in DRAM versus NAND. NAND is the most advanced, [and its] many layers of course require more materials, but there's such additional demand in logic, so this is left pocket right pocket.”

“We have recorded seven quarters in a row of double digits, so this is nothing where I'm concerned.”

Merck’s electronics business is a key supplier to both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix for providing critical materials like photoresists, deposition precursors, CMP slurries, and specialty gases for DRAM, NAND and HBM production.

Samsung and SK are two key suppliers to Nvidia that manufacture HBM memory.

Beckmann also took note of the strength and cohesion of Korea’s industrial ecosystem, emphasizing how critical the country is to Merck’s global supply chain.

“Korea has many hyperscale companies from consumer electronics, technology and materials in the ecosystem,” Beckmann said. “We have invested a lot of money into Korea to be very close to our customers, and that gives us an advantage [where] we can benefit from a local footprint as well as being a global company.”

Merck in 2021 announced it would invest 600 million euros ($700 million) into Korea to expand its production capacity and bolster research and development capabilities in the chip material industry.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]