Memory chip prices surge out of control

From game console makers like
Nintendo to Apple suppliers,
shares in consumer
electronics companies
are slumping amid a
surge in memory chip
prices driven by AI’s
thirst for data centre
processing power

MEMORY SPOT
PRICE INCREASES

800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

FEB 6
573.8%

FEB 6
683.0%

NAND
Flash
512GB

DDR5
DRAM

Percentage scale
zeroed to Feb 10, 2025

2026

Sep 2025: Demand for AI infrastructure
causes memory prices to rise, triggering
severe shortage of DRAM and NAND
as manufacturers shift production to
more profitable AI-specialised memory

Source: Bloomberg
Illustration created with aid of Google Gemini
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