South Korean Retail Investors Emerge as Top Overseas Buyers of Palantir, Leading Weekly Purchases

TradingKey - Despite growing “bubble” concerns surrounding AI stocks, retail investors in South Korea are aggressively buying the U.S. AI software firm Palantir. According to data released on August 31 by Savro, a platform operated by Korea’s Securities Depository, South Korean investors net purchased $116.77 million worth of Palantir shares during the week of August 22–28 — the highest among all foreign stocks, underscoring strong confidence in the AI sector.

[Source: Google Finance]

The buying surge followed a sharp correction in Palantir’s stock. From August 13 to 20, the stock declined for six consecutive trading days, falling over 20% from its all-time high — including a 9.35% single-day plunge on August 19. The sell-off was widely attributed to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s warning that the AI industry may be in a bubble. Altman cautioned that investor enthusiasm had become “excessive” and that valuations at some companies had decoupled from fundamentals.

Rather than panic-selling, however, South Korean retail investors viewed the pullback as a prime opportunity to accumulate. In the same week, they also net bought $113.8 million in NVIDIA shares — ranking second — highlighting their continued appetite for core AI infrastructure plays.

Other tech and energy assets also attracted interest:

• BitMine, the world’s largest Ethereum mining company, saw net inflows of $96.22 million
• Nuclear energy firm Newscale Power attracted $4.22 million in net purchases
• U.S. insurance giant UnitedHealth Group drew $3.81 million in net buying

The active trading behavior of South Korean retail investors reflects the strong appetite among emerging market investors for high-growth technology stocks. Amid the tug-of-war between AI’s long-term potential and short-term valuation swings, the recent market correction — triggered by bubble fears — has instead been seen by many as a “golden buying opportunity.”