Iran War Chokes Off Helium Supply Critical for AI

The global supply of helium—the natural-gas byproduct better known for keeping party balloons aloft—is being squeezed by a halt in natural-gas exports from Qatar, the source of about a third of the world’s total. The shortage is straining a market where supplies can’t be switched on quickly, threatening to hamper production of everything from semiconductors to military-drone components and space rockets. Helium is the second-most-common element in the universe after hydrogen, but it is rare on Earth, where it mainly exists in small concentrations in pockets of natural gas. Energy producers separate it out from methane, nitrogen and other gases,…