# Global semiconductor crisis deepens: AI demand, copper shortages, helium rationing

> The chip crunch behind the AI boom is getting worse, and it is no longer just about GPUs. Tech capex is on track to hit 650 billion dollars in 2026, up 80 percent from 2025's record, and IDC is describing the resulting scarcity as a crisis unlike any before. The pressure is showing up across the whole materials stack. The specifics are eye-opening. Strikes in Qatar have halved a big chunk of global helium supply, roughly a third of world output, forcing fabs in Taiwan and Korea to ration the critical gases used in chipmaking. Copper hit a record six dollars a pound in January before easing to 5.61, and bromine has surged to 12,000 dollars per metric ton, with a single company, ICL Group, controlling 40 percent of global supply. More than twenty chipmakers have announced second price increases this year, specialized AI capacitors have jumped three to ten times in price, and lead times are stretching into mid-2027. The takeaway is that AI's physical supply chain is straining in places most people never think about. The bottleneck for the next wave of AI may turn out to be helium and copper, not model architecture.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Manufacturing Dive · Published Sunday, July 12, 2026_

## Wortins' read

The chip crunch behind the AI boom is getting worse, and it is no longer just about GPUs. Tech capex is on track to hit 650 billion dollars in 2026, up 80 percent from 2025's record, and IDC is describing the resulting scarcity as a crisis unlike any before. The pressure is showing up across the whole materials stack. The specifics are eye-opening. Strikes in Qatar have halved a big chunk of global helium supply, roughly a third of world output, forcing fabs in Taiwan and Korea to ration the critical gases used in chipmaking. Copper hit a record six dollars a pound in January before easing to 5.61, and bromine has surged to 12,000 dollars per metric ton, with a single company, ICL Group, controlling 40 percent of global supply. More than twenty chipmakers have announced second price increases this year, specialized AI capacitors have jumped three to ten times in price, and lead times are stretching into mid-2027. The takeaway is that AI's physical supply chain is straining in places most people never think about. The bottleneck for the next wave of AI may turn out to be helium and copper, not model architecture.

## Source

[Read the full story at Manufacturing Dive](https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/opinion-omdia-ai-semiconductor-chip-scarcity/817172/)

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