South Korea has now issued a warning to its semiconductor industry, including giants like Samsung and SK Hynix about the potential disruptions stemming from the escalating war between US-Israel and Iran. According to a report by Reuters, the ruling party lawmaker Kim-Young-bae said that the executives raised concerns over sourcing critical chip-making materials from the Middle East, mainly helium, which is important fro heat management in semiconductor production.
The dependency on helium
Helium has no viable alert natives and it is predicted in only a handful of countries such as Qatar and the US. The South Korean companies source part of their helium supply from the Middle East, raising fears that prolonged instability which could create an impact of the production. As per the Reuters reply, SK Hynix said that it has sufficient inventory and it does not expect immediate disruption, on the other hand, Samsung has not yet commented on the issue.The warning comes as chipmakers already face severe supply bottlenecks due to increasing demand from AI data centres, which has tightened availability for smartphones, laptops and automobiles. The contract chipmaker GlobalFounderies said that it is also monitoring the developments closely and has its mitigation plans in place.
The boarder tech risks
As per the Reuters report, Kim has also cautioned that the conflict could undermine plans by Big Tech firms to expand AI data centers in the Middle East. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia have been positioning the UAE as a hub for AI computing, but recent drone strikes damaged Amazon’s facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, raising questions about the pace of expansion.The warning comes after Iran’s missile strikes on Israel last week, launched in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With the conflict entering its sixth day, South Korea’s chip industry which supplies about two-thirds of the world’s memory chips is bracing for possible fallout in both supply chains and global tech demand.
