Nvidia and Intel tout homegrown American chip supply chain prowess as country bolsters local production, but gaps remain — crucial Blackwell packaging steps remain offshore as projects grow in scope and scale

The US government and major chip companies are publicly highlighting domestic chip production efforts amidst geopolitical competition, spurred by recent legislation and investment drives. This announcement comes as global supply chain vulnerabilities have become a critical national security and economic concern.

A strategic reader should care because the fragmentation and politicization of the global compute supply chain directly impacts future national economic competitiveness, technological leadership, and geopolitical stability, especially concerning advanced AI capabilities. This highlights ongoing efforts to onshore critical components of the AI supply chain.

The narrative around US chip independence is being shaped, emphasizing domestic starting and ending points, but transparently acknowledging persistent offshore dependencies for critical 'middle steps' like advanced packaging until at least 2028. This shifts the focus from a fully onshored chain to a partially onshored, partially de-risked chain, providing a more realistic picture of the timeline for achieving domestic control of the entire chip manufacturing process.