OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) research company, has postponed its initial public offering (IPO), a process through which a private company offers shares to the public for the first time. This decision, announced by OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman in the Fortune magazine on September 12, triggered a drop in AI-related stock prices worldwide. Investors often view an IPO as a signal of a company’s growth and future potential, so the delay raised concerns about the market's confidence in the AI sector. In Asia, the impact was noticeable. In Tokyo, SoftBank, a major investor in OpenAI with a 13% stake, saw its shares fall by 13%. In South Korea, Samsung and its competitor SK Hynix both experienced significant declines, with Samsung’s shares dropping nearly 4% and SK Hynix’s falling almost 6%. In Taiwan, TSMC, a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, lost 1.2% of its value. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, two prominent Chinese AI startups—Z.AI and MiniMax—also saw their shares decline by 7.9% and 6.4%, respectively, according to the Financial Times. European markets were not immune to the ripple effects. In Amsterdam, ASML, a top Dutch semiconductor manufacturer, lost more than 5% of its value, while ASM International, another key player in the semiconductor industry, fell by nearly 10%. In the United States, pre-market trading showed Nvidia and Micron both losing value—2.3% and 5%, respectively. The "Magnificent Seven," a group of major U.S. tech companies (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla) that have heavily invested in AI, also saw their shares affected by the news. OpenAI’s IPO was expected to be a major test of investor confidence in the AI industry. The company has recently launched Astra, its most advanced and controversial AI model. A former researcher from OpenAI and Anthropic, another prominent AI company, warned that the actions of AI giants could have profound impacts on society. AI is often described as "by far the most expensive industrial revolution in history," highlighting its potential to reshape economies and daily life in significant ways.