Chipmakers Scramble as Helium Crunch Threatens AI Expansion

Supply chain disruptions caused by the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran have sent ripples across industries, but information technology stands out as particularly vulnerable. That’s because of its expansive growth plans, which need certain ingredients to work out, from energy to helium. Cheap energy is one of these ingredients, and cheap energy has swung from a perceived surplus into a definite and acute shortage in most of the world as a result of the energy export disruption in the Middle East. Some argue that the U.S. market is insulated thanks…