interconnectedness of even far-flung countries. The U.S.-Israel war in Iran is illuminating the role the Middle East in the semiconductor supply chain, as the ripple effect on Taiwan and South Korean manufacturers becomes clearer. With Qatar producing more than one-third of the world’s helium, its difficult for the U.S. and Canada to scale up fast enough to fill the gap in the semiconductor supply chain. Similarly, 66% of Bromine  – essential to chip “etching” – is concentrated in the Levant region, namely Israel and Jordan.  This is why the actions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Dead Sea are impacting chip manufacturers in South Korea and Taiwan, with about $200 billion erased from the combined value of Samsung and SK Hynix since the war started. While there have been some rallies, most analyst agree a prolonged conflict and ongoing threat to helium and bromine will eventually take a bigger toll – not only on these manufacturers, but on others in the value chain. Consider that the biggest hyperscalers have recently projected $630 billion in AI chip and data center spend for 2026, and its easy to see why custom AI chips are a bigger focus for them. This week, RCRTech will take a closer look at custom AI chips and their growing importance as more stakeholders realize the vulnerability posed by conflicts and disruptions to the supply chain.