AI technology faces geopolitical shifts and rising hardware costs

The global artificial intelligence landscape is undergoing significant shifts across technological, geopolitical, and economic sectors. In China, the state-owned Shanghai Aishengna Electronic Technology Group (SAETG) has announced the production of deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines, a development that has caused concern within NATO and impacted markets, including a decline in Nvidia's value and volatility in the Seoul Stock Exchange.

In the defense sector, a transition toward a military-technological complex is accelerating. The UK Ministry of Defence has secured a £2 billion contract with a Raytheon UK-led consortium for AI training, while NATO has assigned contracts to companies like Anduril, Palantir, and Athea SAS to manage data platforms using AI and computer vision.

Economically, the hardware supply chain faces rising costs. Production costs for printed circuit boards (PCBs) are projected to rise by up to 50% by the end of 2026 due to increased prices for copper and high-purity PPE resin. This is expected to drive up the price of computer motherboards.

In Italy, Minister Adolfo Urso has indicated that a major AI and database gigafactory project could be established in the southern region, part of a broader strategy to attract advanced technological investments to the Mezzogiorno.