In truth, the ambition to control a self-contained technology stack is nothing new. Growing recognition of artificial intelligence’s (AI) transformative potential has recast technological leadership as a strategic asset inseparable from national security. As a result, governments worldwide have expended great efforts in pursuit of technological — particularly AI — sovereignty in the hope of securing a valuable geopolitical lever. On one level, Pax Silica reflects this view, writ large.
Much ink has been spilled on the deepening technological rivalry between the US and China. In this column, we have explored this issue from multiple angles, including the speculative question of what it might look like if the two superpowers were to collude rather than compete. Reality, however, usually proves less imaginative, and more predictable.
On Dec 12, 2025, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg convened the inaugural summit of Pax Silica in Washington, DC, formally establishing the nine-nation strategic initiative that brings the US together with key allies to build a secure and strategically aligned semiconductor stack. Besides the US, the coalition currently consists of Australia, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, the UAE and the UK. In other words, a familiar line-up drawn from Washington’s circle of partners, and whose established positions along key semiconductor choke points make their participation indispensable to Pax Silica’s objectives.
