Brace yourselves, tech fans. The cost of crucial memory chips, NAND and DRAM, is suddenly jumping up. We’re talking about a 15% to 20% rise in contract prices for the last three months of 2025. This is pretty surprising because usually, prices for these parts cool down towards the end of the year.
This unexpected price bump is happening for a couple of big reasons. First, there’s a huge hunger for Artificial Intelligence, or AI, and all the powerful tech needed to run it. Second, the big companies that offer cloud services are buying up memory like crazy. They want to make sure they have enough for all the new projects popping up.
Even major chipmakers are feeling the squeeze. Micron, for example, has temporarily stopped giving out prices for its DRAM and NAND memory. They’re saying that their customers want way more chips than they can comfortably make right now. Meanwhile, another big player, SanDisk, has already upped its NAND memory prices by about 10%. This shows that the price increases are really taking hold across the industry.
More Than Just High Demand
The shortage of memory chips isn’t just because everyone wants them. It also comes from how factories are making them. Many factories are now focusing their efforts on making special DRAM for servers or High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for AI tools. This means they are making less of the common memory chips used in everyday computers and phones. This shift tightens up the supply of older, more standard memory types.
This change puts a lot of pressure on storage companies. There are even signs that older memory, like DDR4, is running low. This makes buyers rush to place their orders sooner than they normally would.
The rising trend in memory prices will hit many parts of the tech world. It affects companies that make SSDs, assemble PCs, and those needing tons of memory for AI projects. Mobile phone makers and even car companies using advanced tech will feel it too. Experts are warning that if this shortage continues into 2026, we could see even higher prices or a much tougher time getting these essential parts. This news comes from a report by Tom’s Hardware on Wednesday (17th).