Memory prices went absolutely bonkers after AI companies bought up everything the factories could make through 2028. RAM that used to cost 140 bucks is hitting 470 in some spots, and storage drives doubled or tripled depending on what you need. Micron just killed off its Crucial brand to focus on data center contracts, which made things worse for regular people trying to build PCs or upgrade phones.
The shortage hit DRAM and NAND flash at the same time because manufacturers switched their production lines to make high-bandwidth memory for AI training clusters instead of consumer products. Samsung, SK Hynix, and others sold out their 2026 production already, and cloud providers locked down contracts years ahead. Gaming PC builders started jacking prices by 10 to 30 percent, and phone launches got delayed because nobody can get enough flash storage.
Analysts say this mess could drag on until the back half of the decade since new factories take three years minimum to spin up, and most planned capacity got earmarked for AI hardware anyway.
The shortage hit DRAM and NAND flash at the same time because manufacturers switched their production lines to make high-bandwidth memory for AI training clusters instead of consumer products. Samsung, SK Hynix, and others sold out their 2026 production already, and cloud providers locked down contracts years ahead. Gaming PC builders started jacking prices by 10 to 30 percent, and phone launches got delayed because nobody can get enough flash storage.
Analysts say this mess could drag on until the back half of the decade since new factories take three years minimum to spin up, and most planned capacity got earmarked for AI hardware anyway.
