Modern chips can contain more than 100 billion complex nanodevices, many of which are less than 50 atoms across. With more than 800 diverse materials (also with multiple touchpoints), 70 different masks, and up to 2,000 steps in wafer fabrication, provenance, indeed, becomes a daunting task.

President Trump has continued proposing high tariffs on imported semiconductors in an effort to compel foreign chipmakers to localize production on U.S. soil.

In the fight for dominance in AI infrastructure, big tech companies are announcing Capex bigger than the GDP of most smaller countries, with a pivot toward AI infrastructure that includes job cuts in the tens-of-thousands.