Global Memory Shortage Deepens Amid AI Surge

The global memory shortage is intensifying as AI-driven data center memory demand accelerates, forcing OEM price hikes and reshaping procurement strategies for MSPs and IT resellers.

AI data center memory demand accelerates DRAM, HBM shortage

The issue is simple but severe. AI servers demand far more memory than consumer devices. High-bandwidth memory (HBM), used to power advanced GPUs, has become the priority for chipmakers. 

Every wafer allocated to HBM means less conventional DRAM and NAND available for smartphones, PCs and storage devices.

Research firm IDC recently described the memory market as being at an “unprecedented inflexion point, with demand materially outpacing supply,” adding: 

“For an industry that has long been characterized by boom-and-bust cycles, this time is different. The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and workloads is exerting significant pressure on the memory ecosystem.”

TrendForce expects average DRAM prices to rise by 50% to 55% this quarter compared with late 2025, an increase one analyst described as “unprecedented,” CNBC reported.

Micron business chief Sumit Sadana told CNBC that when the company makes one bit of HBM for AI chips, it has to forgo making three bits of conventional memory for other devices. “As we increase HBM supply, it leaves less memory left over for the non-HBM portion of the market, because of this three-to-one basis,” he said.

Micron, SK Hynix sell out 2026 capacity amid memory shortage

Perhaps the most startling revelation came from Micron itself. In a candid admission, Sadana laid bare the severity of the supply crunch: “We’re sold out for 2026.”

The company, along with rivals Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, forms a triopoly that controls nearly the entire global memory market. SK Hynix told investors in October that it had already secured demand for its entire 2026 RAM production capacity.

Even the companies driving the surge are feeling the pressure. 

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis told CNBC the shortage is creating operational limits. Physical constraints are “constraining a lot of deployment,” he said, adding that limited capacity “does constrain a little bit the research.”

Hassabis warned that wherever supply is tight, there is a “choke point,” noting that “the whole supply chain is kind of strained.” 

Memory has become a bottleneck across the AI stack. Analysts refer to the challenge as the “memory wall,” in which powerful processors sit idle while waiting for data because memory capacity and speed cannot keep up.

Who benefits from the AI memory shortage — and who pays

The memory shortage is creating clear winners and losers across the technology landscape.

Memory manufacturers Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are enjoying unprecedented pricing power and sold-out production capacity. 

Large OEMs with supply agreements and cash reserves are better positioned to navigate the crisis and may actually gain market share from smaller competitors who can’t secure supply or absorb cost increases.

Meanwhile, budget smartphone makers, white-box PC builders, DIY enthusiasts, and consumers at the lower end of the market will bear the brunt of price increases and supply constraints. 

It takes at least two years to build new chip factories, meaning this supercycle of high prices could easily stretch into 2027 or 2028.

How MSPs and resellers can manage memory-driven price volatility

The memory crisis has fundamentally altered how business gets done for solution providers and resellers, and not in a good way.

Lenovo issued a warning to its North American channel partners earlier this month, as Cisco, HPE, and others continue to communicate with partners. 

The volatility has forced solution providers to rethink how they manage customer commitments and inventory planning. The old model of quoting a price and holding it for 30 days is effectively gone in the current environment.

The practical advice from those navigating the crunch: place orders early, communicate proactively with customers about pricing uncertainty, and build more flexibility into quotes. 

Partners who can position themselves as trusted advisors, helping customers understand the supply dynamics and plan procurement accordingly, will be better placed to maintain relationships through the turbulence.