When you think about artificial intelligence, names like Nvidia or OpenAI may come to mind. But some of the most critical players powering the AI tools we use every day come from far less obvious industries, including a food seasoning giant and a toilet manufacturer.
Take Ajinomoto. Best known globally for producing monosodium glutamate (MSG), the Japanese company is also a quiet but crucial supplier to the semiconductor industry.
Decades of research in amino acid chemistry led Ajinomoto to develop Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF), a specialised insulating material used in advanced semiconductor packaging.
ABF is not part of the silicon chip itself. Instead, it is used in the substrate that connects high-performance processors, such as those designed by Nvidia, Intel and AMD, to the rest of the system. Without these substrates, chips used in AI servers, data centres and gaming GPUs would not function.
During the global chip shortage of 2020-21, limited capacity to produce these advanced substrates, including those made with ABF, became one of several bottlenecks affecting supply.
Then there is TOTO Ltd., globally recognised for its high-end bathroom fixtures. Beyond toilets and sanitary ware, TOTO also manufactures precision ceramic components used in semiconductor equipment. These ceramics are made using sintering, a process that involves heating materials at high temperatures to create dense, durable, and contamination-resistant parts.
In chip manufacturing, such ultra-pure ceramic components are used in tools that handle silicon wafers in cleanroom environments. Even microscopic contamination can ruin semiconductor production, making material purity critical.
Japan as a whole plays a major role in the upstream semiconductor supply chain. Companies such as Shin-Etsu Chemical and Tokyo Electron supply key materials and manufacturing equipment essential for chip fabrication.
While these firms do not design AI models or build data centres, their specialised materials and components form part of the invisible foundation that makes modern computing possible.
So the next time you use an AI chatbot, stream a recommendation, or rely on cloud computing, remember: behind the advanced algorithms lies a global supply chain, one that includes companies known for flavour enhancers and bathroom fittings.
