Qatar helium outage puts chip fabs on clock

AI compute growth is constrained by physical supply chains as much as model progress.

• –Helium is a critical process gas in chip manufacturing, so prolonged shortages can hit wafer throughput.
• –Even short outages can trigger long recovery cycles because distributors must relocate equipment and revalidate suppliers.
• –Foundries with diversified gas sourcing and stronger inventory controls will be more resilient in future geopolitical shocks.