AI Is Turning Memory Chips Into Strategic Infrastructure

Highlights

• WSTS forecasts the global semiconductor market at $1.51 trillion in 2026, with memory alone exceeding $800 billion.
• Micron's new U.S. fabs won't produce wafers until 2027–2030, while AI demand accelerates every quarter.
• China produced 99% of the world's primary gallium in 2024, giving it upstream leverage over chip manufacturing equipment.
• Rare-earth magnets and minerals like yttrium and dysprosium are critical to the machines that build chips, not just the chips themselves.
• The U.S. is countering with over $250 billion in planned domestic semiconductor investment and a U.S.-Taiwan direct investment agreement.