TBPN The AI chip squeeze, Dirty Soda mania, OCC approves Palmer Luckey’s Erebor | Diet TBPN
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Feb 7, 2026 Debates over whether chips or energy will bottleneck AI growth this year. Deep dive into chip supply chain limits, fabs, and hyperscalers’ massive AI capex. A viral Utah drink phenomenon and the business challenges behind Dirty Soda mania. Coverage of new entrants, domain buys, and Palmer Luckey’s bank approval for a startup-focused bank.
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Chips, Not Energy, Are The Immediate Bottleneck
- The current AI bottleneck is semiconductor capacity, not energy, driven by concentrated fabs and slow tool production.
- Building leading-edge fabs takes years and depends on limited suppliers like ASML, creating deep supply-chain constraints.
ASML And Fab Costs Create A Deep Constraint
- Leading-edge fabs cost tens of billions and require long ramp-up times and specialized tools.
- ASML's limited EUV machine output and specialized supply chain amplify the capacity constraint.
Invest In Alternative Fabrication Capacity
- Tech companies should proactively fund and diversify wafer capacity to avoid massive future revenue loss.
- Investing now to make Samsung or Intel viable competitors reduces long-term strategic risk.