By Karen Gilchrist
Publication Date:
Key insights
- Disruptions to supply chains for critical minerals could hamper production of vital microchips.
- The Middle East is a major supplier of helium, aluminum and bromine, which are used to make semiconductors.
- Large technology companies are rapidly increasing demand for microchips as AI expands.
The global technology industry could be the latest to be hit by a protracted conflict in the Middle East, with new pressures on semiconductor supply chains potentially hampering the artificial intelligence boom.
The conflict has highlighted the Middle East’s key role in supply chains for critical minerals and other elements essential to the production of microchips for Big Tech.
“The longer this conflict continues, the more likely it is that some of the critical (materials) the region produces that enter other supply chains – helium in semiconductors, for example – will also become a problem,” said Neil Shearing, chief group economist at Capital Economics.
A South Korean…
