Overview
- CounterPoint says DRAM prices are up about 50% in 2025 and could rise roughly another 50% by 2026 Q2 from current levels.
- The firm links the squeeze to AI demand and NVIDIA’s move to LPDDR in servers, which it says swells orders to smartphone‑maker scale and strains supply.
- Samsung is prioritizing general‑purpose DRAM and slowing HBM expansion to maximize near‑term profits, with local reports also flagging a memory‑unit leadership change.
- Market reports indicate GDDR6 costs have climbed about 30% as capacity is redirected to DDR5, HBM and other AI‑oriented products, lifting GPU bills of materials.
- Channel chatter includes an unconfirmed report that NVIDIA and AMD may pause mid‑ and entry‑level GPU output and a PowerColor representative’s personal warning of price hikes before year‑end.