How the map is built

Record first, judgment second. Every link is a sourced observation; every reading of what it means is labeled as ours.

What counts as a link

A link appears when a dated public source reports that one party supplies another with one of eleven inputs: chips, memory, chipmaking tools, manufacturing, packaging, power, compute, capital, distribution, data, or rules and permissions. Each link carries a stable ID (L001 onward), a one-line description, the fact the source supports, and the source itself.

How strong each source is

Primary source company, regulator or court record (14 links)
Press report established news and trade press (60 links)
Secondary source aggregators and analyst blogs (16 links), flagged and scheduled for upgrade

Where the source supports the fact but does not name both parties, the link is marked Our inference (6 links). Hedged sources stay hedged: "reportedly" and "estimated" are carried into the record.

Chokepoints

A chokepoint is an input that a few holders control and everyone downstream needs. Binding means it is limiting output now; tight means it is scarce but not yet the limit. Each chokepoint lists sourced observations and, separately, exmxc's read.

The Four Forces

Each layer of the map sits under one of exmxc's Four Forces of AI Power: Compute, Interface, Alignment and Energy.

Review and versions

Before each release, an independent reviewer checks claims against their cited pages. Releases are versioned and kept: v0.1.0 stays available after later releases. Links are added, changed or retired with a date, never silently edited. Changes after publication are logged on the corrections page.