▸ Concept

Critical minerals for AI

The small set of rare or geographically concentrated elements — indium, gallium, germanium, rare earths — that chip fabrication depends on and that no single country controls end-to-end.

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AI chips AI infrastructure Export controls for AI

In a nutshell

Semiconductor fabrication draws on dozens of elements in quantities measured in grams per wafer, but a handful — indium, gallium, germanium, rare earths — are both essential and sourced from a small number of countries. Concentration creates chokepoints: one country restricting export of a precursor can idle fabs on the other side of the world. The hard part is substitution time. A chip architecture is designed around specific materials; redesigning around a substitute takes years and carries yield risk. So the supply chain for AI hardware runs right back to geology and trade policy, not just manufacturing.