Big Tech Moves to Secure Chips and Power Directly

With parts and electricity in short supply amid the AI boom, a new trend is emerging: big tech companies, which until now simply bought what they needed, are directly producing and securing the semiconductors and power they require. Nvidia is supporting the expansion of partner factories, while Amazon has moved to secure power based on nuclear power plants.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on the 21st that "infrastructure must be built before AI models emerge," adding that it is "just as you needed a telecommunications network before you could use the internet."

Amazon is taking a different approach. It is reviewing projects to support the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) and to secure priority purchase of the power once they come online. The strategy is to lock up power sources needed for data centers ahead of competitors.

Commenting on this trend, Lee Jong-hwan, a professor of system semiconductor engineering at Sangmyung University, diagnosed that "big tech companies have deep pockets, so they are gradually expanding to own as much production and manufacturing capacity as possible." Ahn Ki-hyun, executive managing director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, said, "We should now see this as the era of competition between supply chains."