There isn't enough RAM to meet AI demand in 2026 – prices will skyrocket
Random-access memory (RAM) vendors won’t be able to meet worldwide demand this year, as the component is required by artificial intelligence (AI) chipmakers. This is bad news for consumers.
All computing devices require RAM, the type of computer memory where data is stored as the processor needs it. Companies like Nvidia and Google, which produce AI chips, are among the first to receive these components.
RAM vendors Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung Electronics, making up nearly the entire market, say the demand for RAM from these companies is so high that their supply may be unable to meet it, CNBC reports.
″We have seen a very sharp, significant surge in demand for memory, and it has far outpaced our ability to supply that memory and, in our estimation, the supply capability of the whole memory industry,” Micron business chief Sumit Sadana told CNBC.
The price of RAM has already been on the rise. Cybernews has previously reported that the price of a standard 32GB RAM kit doubled between January 2025 and 2026, from $120 to $240
TrendForce, a Taipei-based research firm, has stated that it expects average DRAM, the most common type of RAM, memory prices to rise between 50% and 55% this quarter compared to the last quarter of 2025.
RAM price hikes are bad news for consumers purchasing RAM-containing devices, which are the majority of digital devices.
For example, to avoid massive price hikes, smartphones may have less RAM. Otherwise, their price could increase by up to 15%.
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Micron announced last year that it would discontinue providing memory for consumer PC builders and instead focus on supplying AI chips and servers.
Meanwhile, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics are planning to raise server DRAM prices by 60% to 70% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the last quarter of 2025, Korea Economic Daily reported, citing unnamed sources.
The companies reportedly have proposed similar price increases to their PC and smartphone DRAM clients.
This isn’t the only case where rapid AI development hurts consumers’ pockets. As data centers require a significant amount of electricity, utilities invest in infrastructure, spreading the costs to all consumers.
Data centers and cryptocurrency mining could lead to an 8% increase in the average US electricity bill by 2030, according to a study from Carnegie Mellon University. In the highest-demand markets of central and northern Virginia, the increase could exceed 25%.
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