The Chip Shortage Is Back — And AI Is Why Your Factory Can't Get Parts

Microchip Technology said this week that AI buyers have effectively taken over its factories, pushing industrial chip lead times back to 32 weeks — the same levels seen during the COVID-era supply crunch — as foundries prioritize high-margin AI silicon over the microcontrollers and analog chips that factory automation and automotive systems depend on. Also: OpenAI's AI disproved a foundational 25-year-old math conjecture verified in a formal proof checker, and hundreds of activists occupied Microsoft's Amsterdam data center construction site as part of a coordinated 85-action campaign across 15 European countries.