The tiny slivers of silicon inside every device have become the most contested resource on Earth, and the competition is redrawing the global tech map.
Advanced chips now decide who leads in AI, and the machines that make them are the most complex devices humanity builds. A single extreme-ultraviolet lithography system contains over 100,000 parts and costs more than a commercial aircraft.
Governments have responded with unprecedented industrial policy: hundreds of billions in subsidies to build fabrication plants across the United States, Europe, Japan and India, reducing dependence on any single region.
For consumers, the stakes are indirect but real. Supply resilience determines whether the next chip shortage cancels your car order or doubles graphics card prices. The chip war’s outcome will quietly shape what technology costs for the next decade.