The AI-driven price surge in the semiconductor supply chain is spreading beyond graphics processing units (GPUs) and memory chips to upstream materials and manufacturing inputs, creating new bottlenecks that could slow the buildout of global artificial intelligence infrastructure. Suppliers of once less-visible parts are gaining leverage as customers compete for limited capacity. These range from power chips and capacitors that regulate electricity inside AI data centres, to copper-clad laminates and glass fabric that form the base of printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as industrial gases, valves and ceramic parts used in chipmaking tools. “Capacitors and power semiconductors are now both moving into a price-increase cycle,” said Liu Gaochang, an analyst at Sinolink Securities, who noted that the adjustments have spread from selected products to wider categories. AI servers use three to 10 times as many capacitors as traditional servers, and orders for power components were “fully loaded”, Liu said, adding that costs had also risen for aluminium foil, chemical materials and electricity. Japan’s Murata Manufacturing, the world’s largest maker of multilayer ceramic capacitors, or MLCCs, will raise prices for products used in AI servers and high-end automotive electronics by 10 to 40 per cent from July, Shanghai Securities News reported. The price increases have also spread to other products in the segment, including aluminium electrolytic capacitors, film capacitors and supercapacitors, as peers such as Taiyo Yuden, Nichicon, Nippon Chemi-Con and China’s Jianghai Electronics have made similar moves. Makers of power semiconductors, including Germany’s Infineon Technologies, Texas Instruments of the US and China’s Yangjie Technology, have recently raised prices. In a mid-June notice to customers, Yangjie said it would raise prices for its full product range by 10 to 15 per cent from July, citing rising costs for upstream wafers, bulk metals and packaging materials. Orders for its silicon carbide business were “full”, the company said on an investor-interaction platform. Silicon carbide is used to make high-efficiency power devices that can handle higher voltages with lower energy loss. “The pricing power of the semiconductor supply chain is structurally shifting from end chips to equipment and components,” said Xu Guangtan, an analyst at China Securities. He noted that many component suppliers have limited supply flexibility and face long expansion cycles, which contribute to the rising prices. The squeeze is also reaching PCBs, as AI accelerators and high-speed switch platforms require more layers and lower signal loss, further lifting demand for high-end copper foil, low-dielectric glass fabric, copper-clad laminates and prepreg, the insulating material used to bind multilayer boards. Kingboard Laminates, a major supplier of copper-clad laminates and prepreg materials, has raised prices several times this year - the latest announced in mid-June - with each round exceeding 10 per cent, according to Chinese media reports citing company price notices. On the chip manufacturing side, wafer fab expansion is putting equipment parts and basic production inputs in the spotlight. Japan’s Nippon Sanso said it would raise helium prices by more than 30 per cent from July, citing tight global supply and higher procurement costs amid conflicts in the Middle East, Nikkei reported. Helium, a by-product of natural gas, is used in semiconductor production for cooling and leak detection. Rising costs at foundries and integrated circuit packaging houses are rippling into chip design companies. MediaTek told customers in a late-June notice that “unprecedented component shortages, limited capacity, longer supply-chain lead times and higher raw-material and logistics costs” had forced it to review its pricing structure, Taiwan’s Economic Daily News reported.