Rahul Mewawalla: How Rare Earth Minerals will Impact AI, Computing, Technology and Everything
The majority of the global supply of the critical elements is outside the United States.
You’ve probably heard by now that rare earth minerals are increasingly becoming a key component of international trade negotiations and global partnerships. It’s a strategic move that will have significant consequences across AI, Computing, and Technology.
AI data centers, storage systems, networking equipment, semiconductors, high performance computing - to name a few - are all reliant on rare earth minerals. And it’s estimated that the majority of the global supply of the critical elements - samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium, is outside the United States.
If you’re considering updating or upgrading your critical digital infrastructure, you should be paying close attention to developments around rare earth materials. On the current trajectory, it’s only a matter of time before these industries start directly feeling the impact. So how long will it take before these critical industries start feeling the effects from these developments?
It’s a bit nuanced with many variables factoring into the timeline. Strategic trade and partnership negotiations and discussion advancements between the United States and other countries holds the biggest sway. Outside of those moving pieces, here’s my projected timeline on when I see the technology industry getting impacted.
If you’re thinking about updating your digital infrastructure, these anticipated timelines should be integrated into your plans.
Timeline for disruptions
Over the next quarter, it’s unlikely we will detect immediate significant differences in the AI and technology component markets. Most companies have supplies ordered well in advance. Chips, cooling systems, power systems, servers, etc., are typically ordered for several upcoming months. Major cloud providers also have supply contracts in place that will protect them over this period.
These key components could begin to see higher costs as we advance towards the end of the year. Hardware manufacturers will commence factoring in supply chain developments and cost impacts for motors, magnets, and lasers that all depend on rare earth materials. Availability and prices could also be impacted for GPUs, CPUs, network cards, and power systems.
2026 however will be a critical year. Rare earth supply chains will become increasingly dependent on how these ongoing discussions develop. Companies will assess alternative and new suppliers, and even from new geographies. However, new contracts and alliances take time to establish, and even longer to scale. It is therefore crucial that companies start embarking on finding new opportunities today, as we all prepare for a world where we are increasingly dependent on rare earth materials and sustained access becomes a competitive advantage.
Rahul Mewawalla is CEO and President of NASDAQ-listed Mawson Infrastructure Group, and formerly an executive with technology companies such as Yahoo, Nokia, and General Electric Company. This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.
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