A global shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory, driven by the ongoing AI infrastructure buildout, has caused memory chip prices to rise sharply, according to two reports. Industry tipster Digital Chat Station, cited by Wccftech, estimates that a 12GB RAM plus 256GB NAND flash combination now costs smartphone manufacturers around $310, up from about $70 last year — a 340 percent increase. This makes memory more expensive than a top-end smartphone chipset, which the tipster says costs around $280, or 2,000 RMB.
The rising memory costs are affecting device pricing and specifications. Some of Google's newest Pixel 11 Pro models reportedly ship with 12GB of RAM instead of 16GB while still costing more than their Pixel 10 Pro predecessors. Digital Chat Station notes that pairing higher memory and storage configurations, such as 16GB RAM with 512GB storage, would push bill-of-materials costs even higher, forcing manufacturers to raise prices further. The tipster expects memory and storage costs to keep climbing through 2028, with the shortage potentially easing sometime in 2029.
Separately, data from Korea's Trade Statistics Promotion Institute (TRASS), reported via ChosunBiz, shows the scale of the price surge at the export level. Between August 1 and August 20, the export unit price for Korean-made DRAM reached $92,183 per kilogram, roughly KRW127 million — a 401 percent annual increase and 12.5 times higher than prices in January 2023, shortly after the AI boom began. At current gold prices, one kilogram of this DRAM is now worth as much as 620 grams of 24-karat gold, according to the report.
The memory shortage has broader implications across the tech industry. Memory manufacturers SK hynix and Samsung have reportedly paid generous bonuses to employees amid the price surge, and workers at Micron's Taiwan operations are said to be interested in similar bonuses. Apple has raised prices on several products this year and is reportedly lobbying the US government to allow memory purchases from China's CXMT, whose IPO set records as it seeks a larger role in the global memory market. The market remains dominated by Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron, with Micron expanding US capacity to reduce reliance on the broader global supply chain.
The price increases are also affecting computer and AI hardware makers. MSI's Katana 15 HX C14W gaming laptop reportedly uses older DDR4 memory alongside newer DDR5 chips as part of adjusted procurement strategies. Reports also suggest that Nvidia could face cost pressure, with servers using its Rubin GPUs potentially seeing price increases of 15 to 17 percent due to memory costs. Sources note that broader gold price increases in 2026 have been driven by a weaker US dollar and global economic uncertainty linked to higher energy costs from the conflict in Iran.