For the semiconductor industry, now is a time for building as some ambitious chipmaking facilities (or "fabs") get underway. Companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and , among others, are scooping up generous government aid as countries aim for supply chain resilience.

Intel in particular hopes to be the first to enter the "angstrom era," a nod to the shrinking of the smallest features of chips beyond the nanometer (an angstrom is 10 nanometers, with 10 million nanometers equaling one centimeter).

One pick-and-shovel play in this race is Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT). Fresh off a fantastic 2023 -- and with a new wave of growth likely right around the corner -- the chip manufacturing equipment maker could be an overlooked buy as artificial intelligence (AI) systems put new demands on high-performance chips.

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Source Fool.com