The RAM crunch could kill products and even entire companies, memory exec admits

"and some companies will even die if they can't get the components they need, he agreed, in a televised interview with Ningguan Chen of Taiwanese broadcaster Next TV. While the interview's entirely in Chinese, friends of The Verge stepped forward to confirm parts of a machine-translated summary that's been making headlines. They also note, importantly, that it's the interviewer asking whether companies might shut down or product lines might discontinue. Khein-Seng largely just agreed and clarified that it'll happen if these companies cannot secure enough RAM."

"It's genuinely possible that some companies won't be able to secure enough RAM. AI data centers are gobbling up the vast majority of the world's memory supply as part of a global buildout, creating an unprecedented imbalance in supply and demand that's seen RAM prices triple, quadruple, or even sextuple over the past handful of months. Even Nvidia might skip shipping a gaming GPU for the first time in 30 years."

"Even Apple may have trouble securing enough RAM now, not to mention memory chips for SSDs, and other vital components. The RAM shortage may affect everything that computing touches over the next several years, as only three companies control 93 percent of the entire DRAM market, and while those three companies are building more facilities, they don't want to build too fast. All three have decided to prioritize profits instead of risking overproduction that could lose them money later."

Phison, a leading controller-chip manufacturer, warns companies may need to cut product lines in the second half of 2026 and some firms could fail if they cannot secure sufficient RAM. AI data centers are consuming the majority of global memory supply during a large-scale buildout, causing DRAM prices to triple to sextuple recently. Even major vendors face potential shipment delays. Only three firms control about 93% of DRAM production and are expanding cautiously to avoid overcapacity, prioritizing profits. The shortage may cause increased repairs, disrupted product availability, and broad impacts across computing for several years.

Read at The Verge