Guess I need to wait this out like GPUs.
I really don’t like the we’re pointing the finger at a thing, rather than the businesses who have a history of colluding to raise prices.
This is the big three memory manufacturers choosing to cut back on consumer hardware production to raise prices while enterprise margins are substantially higher. This has nothing to do with AI and everything to do with greed.
They know that by blaming something else they can get away with it more easily, not that this administration wouldn’t let them anyway after a little bribe.
On the one hand, you’re right. On the other hand OpenAI just signed a deal for around 25-30% of all RAM manufactured in 2026 all around the world.
Not even the finished boards, just the half-done wafers practically so others can’t have any. Strategically timed and kept in secret to cause maximum market mayhem.
And nobody is keeping inventory because of the tariff chaos.
So it’s not just that, but greed, for example Micron pivoting away from consumer RAM, adds to it.
I wonder if its actually china’s gallium/germanium/rare earth sanctions hitting. When the west runs out of materials, they can’t produce any more ram.
My son asked for DDR5 ram for Christmas and I had to explain this to him.
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The other RAM companies already sold literally all of their silicon wafer volume to OpenAI. Micron is the one taking advantage of the situation. That’s why they aren’t going to sell to consumers, there’s otherwise zero RAM supply, and they can make significantly more money manufacturing HBM memory, instead of DDR.
So yes, AI data centers made RAM price skyrocket by buying 2/3s of the global RAM supply, Micron reacted (not caused) by deciding to maximize the profit from their remaining 1/3 of the global supply, and no, the other companies will not make RAM more expensive because there literally is no more RAM to sell.
You have cause and effect reversed here. Micron didn’t change their business model on a whim.
On one hand this is perfect opportunity for Chinese ram industry to grow. Not sure if there’s anyone else in that market sector to benefit.
How long does it take to spin up a fab?
Probably around 5 years if I had to gander a guess.
Intel has had longer than that to get their Ohio ppant up and running and they have made fuck all progress.
