Global RAM Shortage Could Last for Years

A severe and persistent shortage of DRAM memory chips is gripping the global electronics industry, with analysts projecting the crunch could last for years, potentially until the end of the decade. These chips, which serve as the high-speed working memory for everything from smartphones to AI supercomputers, are in critically short supply due to an insatiable demand surge driven primarily by artificial intelligence infrastructure. Current projections estimate that despite aggressive production expansions, manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron may only meet about 60% of global DRAM demand by late 2027. Some industry forecasts are even more pessimistic, suggesting supply may not catch up with demand until 2030. This extended timeline reflects the monumental scale of new AI data center build-outs, where each advanced server requires vast quantities of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a premium type of DRAM. The AI boom is creating a double strain on production. First, it consumes an ever-larger share of total DRAM output. Second, it pushes manufacturers to prioritize the complex and costly production of HBM over more conventional DRAM used in consumer devices, tightening supply across the board. This means the shortage will have cascading effects, likely leading to higher prices and potential delays for PCs, laptops, and other electronics. For the AI industry itself, the shortage presents a significant bottleneck. The pace of innovation in large language and multimodal models is directly tied to available memory and compute. A years-long RAM shortage could constrain the growth of AI services and increase operational costs for every company in the space, making memory chip manufacturing capacity a critical—and contested—strategic resource for the foreseeable future.