# The Chiplet Economy: Why the Supply Chain Is the Product in AI Silicon

- slug: the-chiplet-economy-why-the-supply-chain-is-the-product-in-ai-silicon
- date: 2026-04-26
- category: Hardware & Energy

Google spent three years building a custom AI chip supply chain. Now that supply chain is the product: MediaTek ran its I/O modules on the Ironwood chip 20 to 30 percent cheaper than alternatives, proving the coordination layer, not the chip, is where value lives.

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