These Japanese AI winners don’t make chips. They make toilets, glass fiber and seasoning
Traditional Japanese manufacturing companies like Toto, Nittobo, and Ajinomoto are seeing significant stock growth by pivoting their core technologies to support the AI semiconductor supply chain. These firms provide essential components like ceramic chucks, glass fiber, and insulating films used in high-performance computing.
Why it matters
This demonstrates how the AI boom is creating unexpected economic opportunities for legacy industrial firms outside the traditional tech sector.
At a time when investor attention has been on the semiconductor industry, some hidden gems with businesses quite dissimilar to high tech have turned out to be market winners, riding the AI boom.
Toto is best known for high-end toilets, Nittobo makes textiles and glass fiber, and Ajinomoto makes MSG seasoning. Their shares have gained 78%, 63% and 61%, respectively, this year, as they make use of their core technologies to benefit from the AI supply chain.
Toto makes ceramic electrostatic chucks used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, while Nittobo supplies advanced glass fiber used in semiconductor package substrates. Ajinomoto makes insulating material, known as "build-up film" or ABF, used in semiconductor packaging for high-performance computers and data-center servers. All three companies reported sharp growth in businesses tied to semiconductor demand for their full financial years ended March 31, highlighting the impact of the AI boom.
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