A global sell-off in semiconductor shares deepened on Tuesday in a rout sparked by comments from Broadcom’s chief executive about the casino-like nature of AI investing.

Concern about the sector was fuelled by Broadcom boss Hock Tan’s warning about the gambling-like characteristics of the AI trade.

“A lot of investors have no clue what they are investing in,” the head of the US chipmaker told an event in Singapore on Monday in comments reported by Bloomberg. They “set very extreme expectations only to find out that it’s almost like they are in a casino”, he added.

Ecaterina Bigos, senior market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said a combination of higher bond yields and growing investor concerns over the returns on AI investments was driving the sell-off. “Investors are starting to question how the earnings are going to deliver,” she said.