Why the AI boom could keep memory prices high until 2030

Date:
Mon, 02 Nov 2026 13:56:40 +0000

Description:
Sam Altman might not physically steal your RAM, but AI isn't the only
industry hungry for more memory.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Sam Altman has been making headlines for his claims that consumers dont deserve DRAM because it is only utilized 5% of the time. In his opinion, DRAM supplies should be prioritized for data centers where its utility can be maximized powering cloud environments.

Altmans perspective is like a utilitarian's fantasy. Humanitys endurance of short-term pain - by handing over every bit of DRAM we have - will lead to a morally right outcome in the form of a world powered by time-saving, efficiency-increasing, productivity-boosting AI. Sounds great if youre the head of an AI company, but less so if you just want memory to be affordable again. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

But what the OpenAI head seems to forget is that the DRAM shortage is part of a crisis he had a hand in creating. When OpenAIs Stargate datacenter buildout was announced in early 2025, it was predicted that the project would require 40% of the worlds global supply. Supply issues were compounded as leading producers of memory entered a production turndown just a few years before to help stabilize pricing. Will Sam Altman break into your house to steal your RAM? The good news is that there is little Sam Altman himself can do to take your RAM off you. One reddit user asked Google AI the question weve all been thinking: Is Sam Altman going to break into my house and steal my RAM? You
may like Sam Altman says it's 'quite terrible' that you're using RAM in your PC Analyst believes RAM crisis may get far worse in 2027, and you can blame
AI RAM crisis to get worse in 2027 and 2028 and then the robots are coming Were safe for now from r/ChatGPT Google reassured the user with, No, Sam Altman is not going to break into your house to physically steal your RAM. So at least there's that.

But given how constrained the current memory supply is, there are a few ways that AI and other future tech could make the whole situation worse. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. The worst could still be yet to come One of the worlds leading memory manufacturers, SK Hynix, has predicted that the supply shortage could persist through 2030, making any hopes of a return to affordable pricing in the next few years a distant
dream.

With OpenAI and Anthropic both set to hit the public market within that window, there is a lot of uncertainty over how the memory giants that control around 90% of the worlds supply will shift production.

Given the difference in revenue between the consumer memory market and the AI market, it wouldnt be surprising to see a significant production swing
towards the high-bandwidth memory required for AI inference and training.
What to read next RAM crisis could last until 2030 and then get ready for
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3 years The hidden RAM crisis costs that could scupper your PC upgrade

This could be compounded by AIs effect on the job market, with numerous firms enacting hiring freezes as AI strategies help cut out repetitive rote work. Higher unemployment and a lack of open positions could further reduce the demand for consumer memory, swinging production further in favor of AI.

But other emerging industries are also looking to take a bite out of the memory market. Robots and autonomous vehicles are coming for your RAM There has been a recent explosion in the robotics industry: from humanoid bots competing in their very own Olympics , to warehouses staffed by fleets of micro-bots. As AI improves and converges with the robotics industry to
produce bots with near-human fine motor control, numerous industries spanning manufacturing, hospitality and logistics could buy robots in place of humans
.

After all, a robot can work around the clock, doesnt need to rest, and doesnt have any rights to be violated with unsafe working conditions or excessive hours. The same goes for an autonomous taxi or cargo truck.

But they will need memory to run their little AI brains. And serving the corporate overlords is much more important (and much more profitable) than expanding memory production for the consumer market, so dont expect things to improve any time soon. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/memory/is-sam-altman-going-to-break-into-m y-house-and-steal-my-ram-no-but-the-ai-memory-crisis-could-be-about-to-get-a-w hole-lot-worse


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