The AI economy runs on helium. The Iran war just created a $650 billion problem

A Moody's Ratings report warns that helium supply disruptions stemming from Middle East attacks on Qatar's Ras Laffan complex are threatening semiconductor supply chains critical to AI infrastructure. Helium is essential for multiple chip manufacturing stages (wafer cooling, carrier gas, leak detection) with no effective industrial-scale substitutes. Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta have collectively committed $650B to U.S. AI infrastructure this year, assuming intact supply chains — a bet now at risk.