After oil, AI and chip become the new growth engine, this is how the direction of the world is changing

Chip and AI are becoming the new growth engine

There was a time when world power meant control of oil wells, pipelines and sea routes. The countries that had oil decided the direction of the global economy and geopolitics. But now the picture is changing rapidly. In the 21st century, this power is gradually shifting towards AI and semiconductor chips. Today, from the world’s biggest tech companies to governments, everyone is involved in the race for computing power and chips. This is the reason why economies like America, Taiwan and South Korea are now emerging as centers of new technological power.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also pointed towards this change and said that in the 20th century, the countries which had oil, had prosperity and power. In the 21st century, the same power is hidden in small chips. In October 2025, Nvidia became the world’s first company with a market value of $ 5 trillion. At first glance, this was considered a big achievement of the stock market, but its meaning is much bigger than this. In the last century, the countries that controlled oil influenced the world economy and politics. Now AI chips and computing infrastructure are seen playing the same role.

Chips are the real foundation of the world of AI

Today, every ChatGPT search, every AI generated image and every major language model has semiconductor chips behind it. The more money is invested in AI, the more the demand for chips will increase. This is why semiconductors are no longer just a tech product, but have become the basic infrastructure of the AI ​​economy.

Money tells us where the world is going

The growth of the semiconductor industry tells the story of this change itself. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), worldwide semiconductor sales will increase by 25.6% to a record $791.7 billion in 2025. The industry is now very close to touching the $1 trillion mark in 2026. According to John Neufer, President and CEO of SIA, “Semiconductors are the foundation of almost every modern technology.” But the real story is not just the earnings of chip companies. The real story is that chips are now changing the stock market, investments and even the economic strength of countries.

Why are investors’ preferences changing?

Market cap does not indicate the size of a country’s economy, but rather tells where investors see the most earnings and growth in the future. Today, global investment is increasingly going towards those countries which are playing an important role in the AI ​​supply chain. According to Bloomberg, Taiwan’s total market capitalization is expected to grow to $4.95 trillion by 2026, making it the world’s fifth-largest equity market after the US, China, Japan and Hong Kong. The biggest reason behind this surge was the 46% rise in the shares of TSMC, which got the biggest benefit from the AI ​​boom. The situation is such that TSMC alone now accounts for about 42% of Taiwan’s benchmark stock index. It is one of the most concentrated large stock markets in the world.

1. Because of TSMC, Taiwan, with a population of only 23 million, has today become one of the world’s most strategic economies and has become an important center of the AI ​​supply chain.
2. TSMC makes the world’s most advanced chips and supplies them to companies like Nvidia, Apple, AMD and Qualcomm. Big investments in the AI ​​sector ultimately reach its factories.
3. According to Bloomberg, in view of the increasing influence of TSMC, Taiwan has relaxed investment rules, which according to JP Morgan could bring new investment of more than $6 billion.
4. Taiwan’s chip industry is now known as the “Silicon Shield” because its key role in the global semiconductor supply chain makes it strategically important.
5. South Korea is also taking big advantage of the AI ​​boom. According to SIA, sales of memory chips will increase by 34.8% to reach $223.1 billion in 2025, while according to Bloomberg, the country’s market cap will reach around $5 trillion due to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

AI means Nvidia for America

Till about ten years ago, Nvidia was known as a company making gaming graphics cards. But today Nvidia stands at the center of the entire AI economy. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta are spending billions of dollars every year on AI infrastructure, and a large part of this money is ultimately reaching Nvidia’s systems. So Nvidia’s $5 trillion value is not just the success story of one company. This is an indication that in the coming time, computing power is going to be among the most important economic resources of the world.

Data- till June 2026

the worries have not diminished

With increasing technology, the format of indicators that strengthen the economy has changed. Earlier countries were worried about oil wells, pipelines and shipping routes. Now the concern is whether they have sufficient computing power and chip supply or not. For this reason, governments around the world are spending billions of dollars on domestic chip manufacturing. America is increasing investment through CHIPS Act. Europe has prepared its semiconductor strategy. Japan is investing heavily in advanced manufacturing. India is also running incentive schemes for semiconductor manufacturing, chip packaging and AI infrastructure to increase its share in the entire value chain.

It would probably not be wrong if the 20th century is called the century of oil, but the 21st century can be called the century of computing and AI. Just as the race for control of oil determined the world’s politics and economy in the last century, similarly in this century, control over computing power and semiconductor supply chains could become the measure of new global power. It is possible that in the coming years the world’s biggest war will be fought not for oil, but for chips and computing power.

Also read- Preparations to mix 1500 crore liters of ethanol in petrol this year, how much will the government benefit?

Devesh Kumar Pandey

Devesh Kumar Pandey is working as a sub-editor in TV9 Hindi. Devesh, a resident of Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, is interested in history and literature apart from politics. In the year 2024, he studied journalism from Amravati campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Devesh likes travelling, writing, reading and listening to podcasts.

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