AI data centers drain global memory supply as chip shortage expected to last through 2027

AI Is Eating World's Memory And SK Hynix, Samsung, Micron Are Getting Rich - Lenovo Group (OTC:LNVGY), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS), Samsung Electronics Co (OTC:SSNLF)

A surge in AI data center spending is straining the global memory chip market, driving prices higher and setting up a shortage that industry leaders expect to last through at least 2027. The aggressive investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure has sharply increased demand for memory chips, especially high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers. As tens of billions of dollars flow into data centers, the memory supply has shifted heavily toward AI workloads, leaving fewer chips available for consumer electronics such as smartphones, PCs, and laptops. Industry Leaders Warn of Prolonged Shortage Sassine Ghazi, CEO of Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS), told CNBC on Monday that most output from leading memory suppliers is now absorbed by AI infrastructure, crowding out other end markets. "Now it's a golden time for the memory companies," Ghazi said. Financial markets are already reflecting the shift. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is up over 328% in the past year, while SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd (OTC:SSNLF) have posted strong gains in 2026. He said the industry lacks spare capacity, creating shortages across non-AI products. Ghazi said the current chip crunch is likely to persist through 2026 and 2027 because expanding memory manufacturing takes at least two years to bring new capacity online. Leading memory producers Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are working to expand production, but near-term relief remains limited. Rising Prices Pressure Electronics Makers Rising memory prices are already pushing electronics makers to consider price increases. Ghazi said higher prices are already taking effect. Lenovo Group Ltd. (OTC:LNVGY) CFO Winston Cheng also said demand continues to exceed supply, and manufacturers are positioned to pass higher costs along. He noted that ongoing PC upgrades tied to Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 11 release continue to support demand, even as cost pressures build across the industry. Samsung and SK Hynix Battle for AI Memory Leadership Meanwhile, Samsung is accelerating its push into next-generation AI memory as it moves to start producing HBM4 chips and line up Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) as a key customer, aiming to close the gap with market leader SK Hynix. Samsung plans to begin HBM4 manufacturing as early as next month and is preparing initial shipments after reportedly passing qualification tests for both Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD). At the same time, SK Hynix is working to protect its dominant position. The company has already locked in supply talks with major customers for next year and is expanding capacity, with plans to begin feeding wafers into a new fabrication plant in South Korea to boost HBM output. The rivalry is intensifying as Nvidia readies its next-generation Vera Rubin AI platform, which will pair with HBM4 memory. With demand surging, both Samsung and SK Hynix have raised memory prices sharply. Photo by Tada Images via Shutterstock LNVGYLenovo Group Ltd $22.43-1.41% Overview MUMicron Technology Inc $390.50-2.29% SNPSSynopsys Inc $500.23-0.23% SSNLFSamsung Electronics Co Ltd $65.21-% AMDAdvanced Micro Devices Inc $253.41-2.41% MSFTMicrosoft Corp $471.361.16% NVDANVIDIA Corp $186.78-0.48% Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

The AI Infrastructure Stock That's About to Flip the Script

Micron was pulled into the memory market's change in focus to high-bandwidth memory products and became a top AI infrastructure name. Just a few years ago, the memory market was in bad shape. Both the DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and NAND (flash memory) markets were oversupplied, and Micron Technology (MU 1.21%) saw its revenue cut nearly in half in fiscal 2023. Meanwhile, its debt ballooned to over $13 billion. Fast forward to 2026, and the company is entering what looks to be a memory super-cycle, completely flipping the script from just a few years prior. As the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure buildout continues to ramp up, Micron is one of the best-positioned companies in the space. Micron is making new memories Micron is one of the world's three main DRAM companies, alongside Samsung and SK Hynix. It also participates in the NAND market. About 80% of its revenue comes from DRAM and 20% from NAND. DRAM has seen a huge surge in demand and prices due to the AI infrastructure buildout. The reason is that for graphics processing units (GPUs) and other AI chips to perform at their best, they need high bandwidth memory (HBM), which is a specialized form of DRAM. HBM stores data and allows AI chips to quickly retrieve and transfer it, greatly increasing processing speeds. Given the race to build large language models (LLMs) and have lightning-quick inference, demand for HMB has skyrocketed along with the AI data center buildout. Meanwhile, the entire DRAM market is in short supply. This is because the DRAM companies are dedicating most of their production lines to higher return HBM, which requires three to four times the wafer capacity of standard DRAM. This shortfall in the DRAM market is driving up prices. The NAND market is also in short supply, due to a lack of production and demand for massive, high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) using flash memory for AI data centers. Under these supply/demand conditions, Micron has, not surprisingly, seen its fortunes turn. Its revenue is surging, and its gross margins are expanding, which is leading to skyrocketing profits and strong free cash flow. This has helped the company flip to net cash positive on its balance sheet. Looking forward, the company's HBM supply for 2026 is already sold out, and it expects demand to grow at a 40% annual pace through 2028. It's upped its capital expenditure (capex) budget for this year from $18 billion to $20 billion to increase capacity, but the market is likely to remain tight for the foreseeable future. Given the current state of the memory market, Micron looks poised to be a huge AI infrastructure winner.