<h1>Industry leader urges rapid build-up of domestic semiconductor, defense, and AI capacity to reduce national security and economic risks</h1> A senior industry leader speaking at a premier technical institute urged accelerated domestic capacity in semiconductors, defense systems, AI and related technologies, framing technological dependence as a national-security and economic-risk issue. The address highlighted legal and policy risks from supply-chain disruptions, foreign access to cross-border data, and reliance on imported critical systems that may be subject to sanctions or export controls. The speaker called for increased public-private investment, regulatory support, and institutional reform to secure intellectual property, data sovereignty and research funding, implying potential future government measures to mandate or incentivize self-reliance.