AI gold rush pits China vs US as possible microchip shortage looms: experts

Experts say that different chips required for AI versus other tasks should help alleviate issues with demand, but the U.S.-China trade war could make things difficult.

"Companies that make these chips are building out additional capacity to a different extent and in different market niches," he said, adding that while the world is "headed to an oversupply of certain types of chips," there is "already a shortage" of more advanced chips, reflected in the "extraordinary cost of each of these chips."  Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news. 

China enacted a series of extreme lockdown measures, known as "zero-COVID," to combat the coronavirus pandemic, which required cities to shut down and test every resident after officials detected just a few positive cases. 

The impact of this shortage proved severe. Everything from cell phones to cars to Javelin and Stinger missiles halted production and distribution. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated the shortage accounted for a loss of a full percentage point off the GDP for the year.