China’s control over indium phosphide exports threatens AI data centre rollout

Barely a week after Nvidia-backed chipmaker Coherent warned of a shortage of indium phosphide in an earnings call in early May, its CEO Jim Anderson was on a plane with a U.S. business delegation accompanying President Donald Trump on his trip to China.

Anderson’s visit was partly ​to raise the issue of delays in China’s export licenses involving the highly strategic material, essential in manufacturing high-speed optical chips for AI data centres, said three sources ​familiar with the matter.