There’s been no shortage of high-level geopolitical drama around semiconductor chips — the lifeblood of everything from smartphones to satellites to AI supercomputers. The United States has poured billions into strengthening domestic chip production, passing legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act, while levying tariffs and flexing diplomatic muscle against China, Taiwan, and others. But here's the kicker: what good is winning the chip war if our communities aren’t even in the lab?

“We talk about access, but what about ownership? If Black kids don’t know how the tech works, we’ll just be stuck buying it — not building it.”
— Angela Benton, founder of Streamlytics

Breaking Down the Loaf: What Are Chips and Semiconductors Anyway? 

Let’s keep it simple.

Semiconductors are special materials (usually silicon) that conduct electricity under certain conditions.

Chips (aka microchips or integrated circuits) are built from those materials and packed with tiny transistors. These transistors power everything from your Instagram feed to AI that can mimic human voices.

If a semiconductor is flour, then a chip is the finished loaf of bread — baked, ready, and fueling the digital world.

The Money Trail: A $1 Trillion Industry

This isn’t just science — it’s economics.
According to McKinsey & Company, the global semiconductor market:

• Generated $580 billion in 2023

• Is projected to reach $700 billion by 2025

• Will likely surpass $1 trillion by 2030 

Meanwhile, the U.S. has committed $52.7 billion through the CHIPS Act for R&D, manufacturing, and workforce development. Tech giants like Intel, TSMC, and Micron have pledged $200+ billion in new plants across the country.

But here’s the truth: if Black communities don’t actively carve out a stake in this new wave of innovation, we’ll be locked out once again — just like the industrial revolutions of the past.

Enter AI: The Next Battlefield

Artificial Intelligence is already reshaping the economy.

AI-specific chips — like GPUs (graphics processing units) and TPUs (tensor processing units) — are in sky-high demand.

In 2023, the AI chip market was valued at $15 billion.

By 2030, it’s expected to exceed $80 billion.

Black communities have a decision to make: Do we consume the AI revolution, or contribute to it?

“Coding is the new literacy. We can’t afford to let our kids be functionally illiterate in a digital economy.”
— Dr. Kamau Bobb, Director of STEM Education Strategy, Google

What Black America Must Do — Starting Now

To stay competitive — not just as a nation but as a community — we need a STEM surge in Black-majority school districts, HBCUs, and community-led programs. And we can’t wait on the federal government to get it right.

Here’s how we move now:

1. Create Strategic Internships With Equity Incentives

Partner with companies like Apple, IBM, NVIDIA, and Alphabet to offer Black high school and college students free summer internships — not just with stipends, but with common stock shares. Teach skills and build wealth.

2. Launch AI-Focused Curriculum in High Schools

Implement courses like:

• AI Prompt Engineering

• Python for Machine Learning

• Intro to Neural Networks Let students build apps, write AI scripts, and run machine vision projects before college. 

3. Fund Black-Led Tech Startups

Redirect local economic development funds to Black-owned micro tech firms building in AI, semiconductors, robotics, and quantum computing. Start-up capital shouldn't only flow to Silicon Valley.

“There’s genius in our neighborhoods — not just Palo Alto. If we invest in our minds the way others invest in markets, we’ll win.”
— Arlan Hamilton, founder of Backstage Capital

Final Word: This Is Our Shot

The U.S. may dominate trade negotiations, but unless we embed Black futures into the blueprint, we’ll be nothing more than spectators in this new industrial revolution.

We’ve got the creativity. We’ve got the hustle. Now it’s time to build the technical muscle — from the block to the boardroom.

Because the future isn’t just being coded — it’s being claimed.