Memory boom-bust cycle booms again as Samsung reportedly jacks memory prices 60% (www.theregister.com)

Samsung has reportedly raised DRAM prices about 60% since September, driven largely by a surge in demand for AI infrastructure, pushing DDR5 module costs up across consumer and server markets. While AI accelerators themselves typically use high‑bandwidth memories like GDDR or HBM, DDR5 is still critical as system memory—feeding CPUs and holding intermediary state such as key‑value caches that extend a model’s short‑term memory—so higher DDR5 prices directly increase the bill for training and inference systems. The hike affects smartphones, laptops, workstations and servers, tightening budgets and procurement timelines for AI projects. The spike reflects the memory market’s classic boom‑bust dynamics: vendors (Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung and Chinese makers like CXMT/YMTC) produce commodity parts to JEDEC specs, so industrywide inventory moves drive steep price swings. Many makers deliberately slowed fab utilization to cut inventory and shifted investment toward R&D and next‑gen nodes, leaving capacity unable to match a sudden demand wave. Samsung’s own HBM3e validation issues for Nvidia B200/B300 GPUs also constrained the high‑bandwidth side of the supply chain. Analysts at Trendforce expect DDR5 prices to stay elevated through much of 2026, meaning higher capital costs and longer lead times for AI/ML infrastructure builders.