The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, involving intensified hostilities with Iran, the United States, and Israel, is beginning to affect the global economy and is putting pressure on the worldwide artificial intelligence investment boom. Rising energy costs, supply chain disruptions, and inflation are creating a more challenging environment for technology investment.
The Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) said the war has disrupted the global economy’s growth trajectory. A near‑halt of energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz is expected to drive inflation higher and slow growth that had previously been supported by strong technology demand. As a result, the OECD has revised global growth projections for 2026 downward.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has projected that global trade growth could slow sharply this year, with merchandise trade expanding far less than in 2025, largely due to rising energy prices and shipping disruptions linked to the conflict. Elevated energy costs could further reduce growth if the situation persists.
Industry executives are also reporting concrete pressures on technology supply chains. A global helium shortage, worsened by disruptions in Gulf production and transport, is already affecting companies that make semiconductor equipment critical to chips powering AI infrastructure. Helium is essential in cooling and leak‑detection processes in advanced chip fabrication, and shortages are forcing producers to ration supplies and consider costly alternatives.
Semiconductor supply chains are highly sensitive to geopolitical risk, and shortages of helium and other critical materials could delay construction of AI accelerators and data-centre hardware, even as demand for these products continues to grow.
Global financial markets are reflecting these strains. Rising oil prices due to the conflict have heightened inflation fears, dampened investor confidence, and weighed on high-growth technology stocks that have been among the biggest beneficiaries of recent AI investment. Investors are cautious as uncertainty around energy supply and broader economic stability increases.
Business surveys across major economies indicate that surging energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty are slowing activity and pushing inflation expectations higher, making financing for long-term, capital-intensive projects, such as AI data centres and semiconductor fabrication, more expensive and harder to secure.
Read:
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While demand for AI technologies and infrastructure remains strong in the medium- and long-term, the near-term picture has become more complex. Macro-economic headwinds tied to the Middle East crisis are squeezing corporate margins, tightening financing conditions, and adding new risk premiums to global technology markets.
Senior Reporter/Editor
Bio: Ugochukwu is a freelance journalist and Editor at AIbase.ng, with a strong professional focus on investigative reporting. He holds a degree in Mass Communication and brings extensive experience in news gathering, reporting, and editorial writing. With over a decade of active engagement across diverse news outlets, he contributes in-depth analytical, practical, and expository articles exploring artificial intelligence and its real-world impact. His seasoned newsroom experience and well-established information networks provide AIbase.ng with credible, timely, and high-quality coverage of emerging AI developments.
