South Korea's SK Hynix has warned that the global memory chip market is heading toward one of the worst supply shortage crises in its history, noting that the peak of the crisis could occur in 2027, while its effects may persist until 2030 amid continued rising demand for artificial intelligence technologies.

The warning came from the company's CEO Kwak Noh-Jung in an interview with Reuters, in which he explained that global demand for memory chips will exceed manufacturing capacity for years to come, meaning prices will continue to rise and supplies will remain tight.

AI consumes memory production

According to the company, the crisis is due to the massive expansion in investments by major technology companies in AI data centers, which rely on an advanced type of memory known as High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

Producing these chips requires significant manufacturing capabilities and complex packaging technologies, prompting major manufacturers — SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron — to direct most of their production lines to meet corporate and institutional demand, at the expense of traditional memory chips used in smartphones, computers, and gaming devices.

Price increases continue

This shift has led to a decline in production of DDR5 memory and low-cost smartphone memory, which has directly impacted the prices of electronic devices.

Indeed, companies such as Apple, HP, Dell, and Lenovo have started raising prices on several of their products to compensate for the significant increase in component costs.

Therefore, SK Hynix advises users who plan to buy a new computer, upgrade their devices, or replace their phones not to delay the decision if they truly need it, because prices are likely to continue rising in the coming period.

Will the crisis last until 2030?

Despite SK Hynix's pessimism, forecasts within the sector are not uniform.

Micron has endorsed the idea that the market is still at the beginning of a long-term crisis, stressing that current pressures represent only the 'first chapter' of the expected supply shortage.

In contrast, Bloomberg Intelligence believes that the worst stages of the memory crisis may have already peaked in the first half of 2026, expecting prices to gradually stabilize during 2027, with the possibility of the market turning to a supply surplus by 2028 after new factories in the United States and South Korea enter production.

Should you buy devices now?

Sector analysts believe that memory chip prices will not decline in the near term, especially with continued strong demand from AI companies.

However, if your current device can still meet your needs, it may be better to postpone the upgrade until 2028, when supplies are expected to improve and prices become more stable.

But if you need an urgent upgrade, buying now may be a more economical choice than waiting, given expectations of continued memory price increases in the coming years.

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