Samsung raises DDR5 chip prices by up to 60% amid shortages from AI data center race

Samsung has raised the prices of several memory chip models by 30-60% in the past two months, amid soaring demand for AI data centers that has tightened global supply.

November 14, 2568 at 15.55:XNUMX p.m., Reuters reported that Samsung Electronics has raised the prices of some memory chips by as much as 60% compared to September. Facing a severe shortage amid global competition to build AI data centers, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed the price hike.

The price hike comes after Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, delayed announcing official prices for its October shipment contracts. The company typically announces new prices monthly.

Soaring chip prices are pressuring big tech companies to build out their data infrastructure, and are also driving up the costs of other products like smartphones and computers, which use the same chips in their devices.

Tobey Gonnerman, president of chip supplier Fusion Worldwide "Many major server manufacturers and data center builders have already admitted that they won't get the supplies they need. The prices they're paying now are prohibitively high," he said.

Gonnerman stated that Samsung's contract 32GB DDR5 module chip price jumped from $149 in September to $239 in November. DDR chips are used in servers, computers, and other devices to help process temporary data and support high-speed data transfer.

Samsung also raised prices for 16GB DDR5 and 128GB DDR5 chips by about 50 percent, to $135 and $1,194, respectively, while 64GB DDR5 and 96GB DDR5 chips saw increases of more than 30 percent, the sources added. Another source confirmed the information, declining to be named because it's not public information. Samsung itself declined to comment.

The shortage is so severe that some customers are starting to panic buy, according to executives and industry analysts. China's largest contract chipmaker, SMIC, said the memory chip shortage has also caused customers to delay orders for other types of chips used in the same product.

Chinese smartphone and electronics maker Xiaomi warned last month that soaring chip prices were significantly increasing the cost of producing phones.

However, the crisis has been a boon for Samsung, which had previously lagged behind competitors in the advanced AI chip market and seen sluggish profit growth. Samsung's shift to AI chip production later than rivals SK Hynix and Micron has allowed it to retain a larger inventory of memory chips and gain more pricing power.

Ellie Wang, TrendForce analyst Samsung is expected to raise quarterly contract prices by 40–50% in the final quarter of the year, above the industry average of around 30%.

She said, “Samsung is very confident that prices will increase. The main reason is that demand is strong, and all companies are signing long-term contracts with manufacturers, most of which cover 2569 or 2569-2570.”

refer : reuters.com

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