What Is Pax Silica? 10 Key Points You Must Know As India Enters The Global AI Chip Supply Chain

India has formally joined the US-led Pax Silica alliance at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, US Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg, and US Ambassador Sergio Gor signing the declaration - making India the latest and arguably most strategically significant member of the coalition, which already includes Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Israel, the UK, Qatar, and the UAE.

Washington described the move as its biggest win yet in the race to shape who controls access to advanced semiconductors and AI infrastructure supply chains, with Helberg framing India as a critical partner to help 'de-risk and diversify' those chains.

Vaishnaw highlighted the domestic momentum, noting that ten semiconductor plants are being established across the country, the first of which will soon begin commercial production, and that 2-nanometer chip design work is already underway in India.

Here are 10 key things you need to know about Pax Silica:

1. What it is: Pax Silica is the US Department of State's flagship effort on AI and supply chain security, advancing a new economic security consensus among allies and trusted partners. Pax Silica is essentially a 21st-century tech alliance - like NATO for AI supply chains - grouping trusted democracies to collectively secure the materials, chips, data centers, and energy needed to dominate the AI era.

2. The name's meaning: 'Pax' comes from Latin meaning peace, stability, and long-term prosperity - as in Pax Americana or Pax Romana. 'Silica' refers to silicon dioxide, the compound refined into silicon, which is foundational to computer chips that enable AI.

3. When it launched: The initiative was launched in December 2025 alongside the signing of the non-binding Pax Silica Declaration at an inaugural summit held in Washington DC on December 12 last year.

4. Core goal: It aims to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven ecosystem across the entire global technology supply chain - from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics.

5. Why it matters geopolitically: While China is never named in official documents, the initiative's focus on eliminating "coercive dependencies" is widely understood as a direct response to Beijing's leverage over rare earth minerals and chip supply chains.

6. Founding members: The inaugural Pax Silica Summit brought together Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, UAE, and Australia - countries home to the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain.

7. New members joining: Qatar and the UAE signed on in January 2026. And most recently, India signed the Pax Silica declaration on February 20 at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi.

8. What India gains: India's Electronics Minister said Pax Silica will greatly benefit India's electronics and semiconductor industry, as 10 semiconductor plants are being established in India and 2-nanometer chips are already being designed there.

9. Key cooperation areas: Cooperation areas include connectivity and data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, logistics, mineral refining and processing, and energy.

10. The bigger vision: If the 20th century ran on oil and steel, the 21st century runs on compute and the minerals that feed it. Pax Silica is the US-led attempt to ensure that allied democracies - not adversaries - control that infrastructure.

The signing also comes on the heels of a broader push by New Delhi and Washington to strengthen bilateral ties following a period of strain linked to US tariffs on Indian imports, making India's entry into Pax Silica as much a diplomatic milestone as a technological one.