We have entered a memory supercycle driven by the strong demand for AI infrastructure, with shortages becoming a bottleneck for many manufacturers. Recent strategic partnerships between Micron and Anthropic, and Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform locking in Micron HBM4, have confirmed a new technological reality: if computing power is the core "engine" of AI, then AI memory is the "new oil" that determines whether this massive engine can run. Even if computing power is strong, data cannot be "fed in" or "supplied," and it is in vain.
This storm is not only occurring in cloud data centers, but the ripple effects are like a tsunami, ruthlessly disrupting the hardware product planning of thousands of OEM manufacturers worldwide.
The fundamental reason is that AI has pushed the extreme demands on high-end memory's throughput and capacity. A most direct technical fact is: at the same bit capacity, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) consumes approximately four times the silicon area of standard DRAM - that is, for every HBM wafer cut, the available production capacity of ordinary memory will be correspondingly reduced.
This technical feature has led to a frightening "capacity displacement effect." For example, Micron's HBM4 production capacity has already reached twice that of the previous generation HBM3E 12-layer product, and the core die uses the 1β process and self-developed base die, which is fully committed to HBM4 and AI server DRAM. Industry analysts predict that by 2026, AI data centers will consume up to 70% of global high-end DRAM capacity.
This has directly led to the collapse of predictability in the entire storage ecosystem. DRAM and NAND flash contract prices are rising at a historical rate, with some DRAM contract prices increasing by as much as 90-95% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, nearly doubling. At the same time, the traditional delivery cycle has been stretched from the original 8-12 weeks to 25-45 weeks or more. Memory is no longer a generic commodity that can be purchased on demand, but has become a scarce resource that needs to be fought for with sovereignty and core commitments.
Many hardware engineers specializing in non-AI fields such as industry, medicine, and automotive will wonder: "I don't make AI servers, what does this storm have to do with me?