BOTTLENECKS
112 AI supply chain bottlenecks, mapped
The same four-part test that produced the 9 chokepoints also flags a second, larger group out of 580 nodes: markets where supply strains but ownership stays too spread out for any one firm to durably set the price. That is 112 nodes. They do not clear the chokepoint bar — see the methodology page for why — but every one is listed below, by layer.
Every node scored on concentration, moat, downstream reach and routability, then adversarially re-verified. Rescored 15 Jul 2026 · 990 dimensions challenged.
L0 · Raw Materials & Extraction · 18
Battery and energy-storage materials
TeslaLG Energy SolutionFluence+24 more tracked
Bulk industrial gases
Air LiquideMesserAirgas
Cobalt
CMOC+4 more tracked
Copper
Codelco+11 more tracked
Fluorspar and hydrofluoric acid (HF) feedstock
Honeywell International Inc.LANXESSSolvay+3 more tracked
Grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES)
BaosteelNippon Steel CorporationPOSCO
Mineral processing reagents
OricaSyensqoClariant
Permitting, environmental compliance, and government relations
AECOM IncJacobs Engineering Group IncWSP Global Inc
Polysilicon production
TongweiGCL-PolyDaqo New Energy+6 more tracked
Rare earth alloy and master-alloy production
MP Materials+3 more tracked
Rare earths and permanent-magnet supply chain
Lynas Rare EarthsMP Materials+19 more tracked
Silicon carbide (SiC) raw material and substrate-grade SiC
Rohm SemiconductorInfineon Technologies+4 more tracked
Specialty and electronic gases
Linde plcSK MaterialsAir Products+9 more tracked
Specialty and industrial gases
Linde PLCAir LiquideAir Products and Chemicals Inc.+39 more tracked
Tungsten and molybdenum (refractory metals)
CMOC GroupZijin Mining+4 more tracked
L1 · Semiconductor Manufacturing · 36
2.5D packaging - organic/bridge interposer (CoWoS-L, EMIB)
TSMCIntelSamsung+1 more tracked
2.5D packaging - silicon interposer (CoWoS-S and variants)
TSMC+2 more tracked
3D-IC - SoIC/wafer-on-wafer/die-on-wafer hybrid bonding
TSMCIntel+3 more tracked
Advanced packaging materials
ResonacSumitomo BakeliteHenkel
ALD (thermal ALD/PEALD/spatial ALD)
ASM InternationalTokyo ElectronApplied Materials
Assembly and packaging equipment (back-end tools)
ASMPT LtdBesiTOWA+5 more tracked
Atomic layer etch (ALE)
Lam ResearchApplied MaterialsTokyo Electron
Chemical and gas delivery infrastructure
Linde plcAir Liquide S.A.Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
Coat/develop track (photoresist processing)
SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions
Defect inspection - e-beam/electron beam
KLA CorporationApplied Materials
Defect inspection - optical (broadband plasma, laser scanning)
KLA CorporationApplied MaterialsOnto Innovation+2 more tracked
Deposition equipment
Tokyo ElectronLam ResearchApplied Materials
Design tool platforms (front-end, physical design, signoff)
SynopsysCadenceSiemens EDA
EDA software and semiconductor IP
Arm HoldingsSynopsysCadence Design Systems+27 more tracked
Electrical infrastructure and power supply
ABBEatonSchneider Electric+1 more tracked
Electronic-grade specialty gases
LindeMesserAir Products
Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC)
ExyteBechtelFluor Corporation+7 more tracked
IC packaging substrates
UnimicronIbidenNan Ya PCB+8 more tracked
Integrated device manufacturers (IDMs)
IntelSamsungTexas Instruments
Interposers (silicon, organic/bridge, glass)
TSMCIntel+3 more tracked
Leading-edge memory fabs - 3D NAND flash
Western DigitalSamsung ElectronicsSK hynix
Leading-edge memory fabs - DRAM and HBM
SK HynixSamsung ElectronicsMicron Technology+3 more tracked
Mask inspection
Lasertec CorporationKLA Corporation+1 more tracked
Pellicles
EntegrisKLA CorporationS&S Tech+2 more tracked
Photomask and reticle supply chain
Tekscend Photomask Inc.+25 more tracked
Photoresists and lithography chemicals
Dongjin SemichemShanghai Sinyang Semiconductor Materials+10 more tracked
Plasma etch - dielectric etch
Lam Research
Process design kits (PDKs), DFM, and OPC/mask data prep
TSMCSamsungTower Semiconductor
Pure-play leading-edge logic foundries (sub-5 nm)
TSMCSamsung FoundryIntel Foundry+1 more tracked
Semiconductor test - ATE, burn-in, and probe
AdvantestTeradyne+8 more tracked
Silicon photonics foundries
GlobalFoundriesIntelTower Semiconductor
Silicon wafers
Shin-Etsu ChemicalSUMCOGlobalWafers
Thermo-compression and hybrid-bonding tools
Hanmi SemiconductorASMPTEV Group
L2 · Compute Hardware · 17
AI server OEMs
Dell TechnologiesHewlett Packard EnterpriseInspur
Arm-based server CPUs
IntelAMD
CXL memory and memory expanders
MicronSamsungSK Hynix+12 more tracked
Enterprise NAND and NVMe SSDs
Samsung ElectronicsMicron TechnologyKioxia
Ethernet switches and switch silicon
Arista NetworksCiscoMarvell
In-rack liquid-cooling hardware (cold plates, manifolds, QDs, rack CDUs)
JetCoolCoolITMotivair+8 more tracked
Memory subsystems
SamsungSK hynixMicron+29 more tracked
Near-line HDD and high-capacity mechanical storage
Western DigitalSeagateToshiba
Networking and interconnect hardware
CiscoBroadcomCredo+367 more tracked
Optical components — lasers and EMLs
LumentumCoherentMitsubishi+8 more tracked
Optical transceivers and pluggable modules
InnoLight TechnologyCoherentCisco+7 more tracked
Photonic integrated circuits (PICs)
IntelBroadcomLumentum+10 more tracked
Power semiconductors and discretes (MOSFETs, GaN, SiC)
InfineonNexperiaON Semiconductor+153 more tracked
Scale-up fabric (intra-cluster GPU-to-GPU interconnect)
NVIDIA+7 more tracked
Servers, systems, accelerator boards, and racks
DellHewlett Packard EnterpriseLenovo+159 more tracked
x86 server CPUs
IntelAMD
L3 · Power Generation · 6
Natural gas-fired generation
GE VernovaSiemens EnergySolar Turbines+219 more tracked
Nuclear fuel fabrication
WestinghouseFramatomeTVEL
Power generation and its supply chain
GE VernovaMitsubishi PowerSiemens Energy+718 more tracked
Spent fuel storage and transport
Holtec InternationalNAC InternationalAreva-Transnuclear NUHOMS
Uranium enrichment (LEU and HALEU)
UrencoOranoCentrus Energy
L4 · Transmission & Grid · 19
Energy management systems (EMS) and SCADA — transmission
SiemensABBSchneider Electric
Generator step-up (GSU) transformers
SiemensMitsubishi ElectricHyundai Electric
Grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) supply chain
POSCONippon SteelBaosteel+1 more tracked
HV circuit breakers (dead-tank, live-tank, SF6 and vacuum)
GE VernovaSiemens EnergyHitachi Energy+1 more tracked
HV/EHV power transformers, materials and services
Siemens EnergyHitachi EnergyABB+265 more tracked
HV switchgear, circuit breakers and protection apparatus
Hitachi EnergySiemens EnergyGE Vernova+33 more tracked
HVDC land cables (up to plus/minus 800 kV)
Prysmian GroupSumitomo Electric IndustriesNexans
HVDC systems and power electronics for grid stability
Hitachi EnergySiemens EnergyGE Vernova+8 more tracked
Network autotransformers and bulk-power substation transformers
Prolec GE WaukeshaGE Grid Solutions+6 more tracked
Overhead line construction and stringing contractors
OmexomLE MyersGreat Southwestern Construction+3 more tracked
Overhead transmission lines, conductors and towers
PrysmianSumitomo ElectricZMS Wire & Cable+20 more tracked
Reconductoring programmes (HTLS and advanced conductors)
NexansTS Conductor Inc.APAR
Submarine HVDC and HVAC cables
PrysmianSumitomo ElectricLS Cable & System+1 more tracked
Substation upgrade, expansion and refurbishment
ABB LtdSiemens Energy AGSchneider Electric+1 more tracked
Substations and substation equipment
ABBSiemensGE Vernova+132 more tracked
Transmission, grid and interconnection
Hitachi EnergySiemens Energy+939 more tracked
L5 · Data-Centre Physical · 8
Data centre physical
Nscale+738 more tracked
Data centre REITs and real-estate investors
EquinixDigital RealtyAmerican Tower
High-voltage DC (800V DC) distribution
VertivSchneider Electric+12 more tracked
Hyperscale self-build owners/operators
MicrosoftGoogleMeta
Liquid cooling infrastructure
Schneider ElectricLiquidStackAsetek+106 more tracked
On-site and behind-the-meter generation plant
GE VernovaSiemens EnergyBloom Energy+10 more tracked
L6 · Cloud & Infrastructure Software · 5
Cloud and infrastructure software
Amazon Web ServicesMicrosoft AzureGoogle Cloud+89 more tracked
Cloud compute platforms
Microsoft Azure+23 more tracked
Hyperscale AI cloud platforms
AWSMicrosoft AzureGoogle Cloud+3 more tracked
L7 · Models & Foundation Labs · 1
Frontier closed-model developers
AnthropicOpenAIGoogle+3 more tracked
LX · Cross-Cutting Enablers & Services · 2
Data centre tier and design certification
Uptime Institute
Testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) firms
SGS SABureau Veritas SAIntertek Group plc+191 more tracked
Full scorecard, owner shares, supply edges and the full tracked roster are in the desk letter.
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