Apple is confronting a newly intensified supply-chain challenge for future chips as the AI boom has created a global shortage of a key material, Nikkei Asia reports. Apple is said to be struggling to secure sufficient supplies of high-end glass cloth fiber, a material that plays a critical role in the printed circuit boards and chip substrates used in iPhones and other devices. The most advanced forms of this glass cloth are apparently produced almost entirely by one supplier, Nitto Boseki.

Apple began using Nittobo's premium glass cloth in chips years before AI computing drove widespread demand for similar materials. As AI workloads have expanded, however, companies such as Nvidia, Google, Amazon, AMD, and Qualcomm have moved aggressively into the same supply pool, placing unprecedented pressure on Nittobo's limited capacity.

In response, Apple has taken several unusual steps to protect its supply chain. The company reportedly sent staff to Japan last autumn and stationed them at Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, which produces substrate materials and relies on Nittobo's glass cloth. Apple is also believed to have approached Japanese government officials for assistance in securing supply.

Apple is additionally working to qualify alternative suppliers, though progress has been slow. The company has engaged with smaller Chinese glass fiber producers and asked Mitsubishi Gas Chemical to help oversee quality improvements. Because each glass fiber must be extremely thin and defect-free, achieving consistent quality remains difficult, and major chipmakers are reluctant to adopt lower-grade materials even temporarily.