Memory chips are rising stars, boosted by global AI investment. Watch for this nascent growth cycle.

The investment trend in artificial intelligence (AI) is creating opportunities not only for processor chip manufacturers but also boosting memory chips, which are crucial for storing and processing data in AI systems. Amidst rapidly increasing demand while production capacity remains limited, many global analysts believe the memory chip industry is entering a new growth cycle in terms of revenue, profit, and chip price trends. This could be another investment theme to watch in the AI ​​era.

Get to know Memory Chips: The lifeblood of the AI ​​world.

Temporary memory (DRAM) This is the system's main memory used to store data during processing. Advanced HBM-DRAM is used for AI applications and allows for fast data transfer.

Examples of companies in this group include the world's three largest memory manufacturers, two of which are South Korean: SK Hynix Samsung Electronics One of the individuals is an American national. Micron Technology (MU)

Non-Volatile Memory (NAND) Flash memory that retains data even when the power is off, for frequently used data.

Examples of companies in this group include: Kioxia Holdings Corporation The companies involved are SanDisk, a Japanese multinational computer memory manufacturer; Nanya Technology Corporation, an American multinational technology company; and Nanya Technology Corporation, a leading global manufacturer of semiconductor components and DRAM memory from Taiwan.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Magnetic disk storage devices are low-cost and suitable for data that is not accessed frequently.

Examples of companies in this group. Western Digital (WD) It is an American technology company, and Seagate It is one of the world's leading American technology companies and also has manufacturing facilities in Thailand.

Another often overlooked but crucial component in a memory system is... Memory Controller These controls the data transfer between the processor and memory to ensure efficient system operation. One of the key players in this group is... Winbond Electronics From Taiwan.

When considering the overall picture, it becomes clear that the memory industry is not just a market for one type of chip, but... "Data infrastructure" Supporting the growth of AI, Cloud Computing, and Data Centers worldwide.

source Asset Plus Fund Management Company (Information as of June 22, 2569)

Why is the memory chip business so attractive right now?

The highly concentrated memory market favors major manufacturers when demand accelerates. The market's structure is highly concentrated both regionally and among major manufacturers, increasing their bargaining power when demand surges. The United States holds the largest share at 21%, followed by South Korea at 60%, China, Japan, and Taiwan each at 6%, and the European Union (EU) trailing at 1% (data from Goldman Sachs as of May 7, 2569).

While three giant companies control up to 90% of the global DRAM chip production quality, Samsung Electronics holds the largest market share at 35%, followed by SK Hynix with 25%, and Micron in third place with 25% (data from Morgan Stanley as of June 10, 2026).

Memory is gaining a larger share of the AI ​​investment.

Memory is becoming a direct winner in the AI ​​infrastructure investment cycle, as the proportion of investment flowing into memory chips increases to 36% by 2027.

Hyperscalers are projected to continue increasing their AI investments for several years to come. The Big 5 hyperscalers—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle—are forecast to see an average annual investment increase of 27.8% between 2018 and 2030, from $66 million in 2018 to an expected $1,600 billion in 2030. In recent years, memory has become a larger proportion of AI investment, rising from 7.8% in 2023 to 36.2% in 2027. (Data from Bloomberg as of May 26, 2569; SemiAnalysis as of June 7, 2569)

Memory becomes a long-term bottleneck as models become more complex, leading to higher demands.

As AI scales, the demand for memory increases exponentially. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both predict that memory demand will grow in line with the complexity of AI, resulting in a likely long-term shortage. DRAM (Digital Memory) is projected to experience a sharper shortage in 2027, at -5.9%, up from -5.0% in 2026. Similarly, NAND (Neural Memory) is projected to see a further increase in shortage, from -4.4% in 2026 to -4.6% in 2027. This shortage is expected to persist until at least 2028.

Supply chain growth is difficult; the more advanced the chip, the more production capacity it consumes.

Goldman Sachs believes that memory supply expansion is limited, as new factories will take more than three years to complete. Furthermore, newer HBM models consume even more DRAM production capacity; one HBM unit requires the capacity equivalent to approximately four DRAM units. This suggests that the tight supply of memory chips is likely to persist.

Furthermore, manufacturers are likely to increase production capacity more slowly than in the past. Considering the supply growth, DRAM production saw an average annual increase of 19% during 2017-2018. However, the current forecast for production capacity increase between 2026 and 2028 is an average of 15% per year, due to more complex chip manufacturing processes and manufacturers avoiding heavy investments to mitigate the problem of overinvestment.

Persistent memory shortage fuels soaring chip prices.

Major manufacturers are also signaling long-term shortages, driving up DRAM/NAND chip prices sharply and keeping them at their highest levels in 3 years and 4 months. DRAM prices increased 35-fold from October 2023 to April 2026, while NAND prices surged 203-fold during the same period.

According to data from three of the world's largest memory manufacturers, SK Hynix indicates that the global wafer shortage is likely to persist until 2030 as AI-driven demand continues to exceed production capacity. Micron states that it can only supply half to two-thirds of its key customers' demand, reflecting extremely tight memory supply conditions. Samsung Electronics foresees a worsening DRAM shortage in 2027, potentially driving up laptop and SSD prices. (Data from Bloomberg, June 16, 2026)

Goldman Sachs (as of May 31, 2569) sees long-term contracts (LTAs) with major customers such as Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and SanDisk transforming the memory business from a highly volatile cyclical sector to one with more predictable revenue.

Samsung Electronics We are shifting from short-term 1-year contracts to 3-5 year Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) for new customers, and strengthening the contract terms and obligations.

SK Hynix It's difficult to accommodate every LTA request due to supply constraints. Management views LTAs as making the memory business less cyclical.

Micron Customers have rushed to sign over 16 production capacity lock-in contracts with an average contract term of around 3 years. SanDisk signed LTAs with 5 customers, representing one-third of its 2027 production volume, and KIOXIA received LTA proposals from several hyperscalers covering 2027–2028.

In terms of earnings outlook, the memory chip sector shows strong growth, outpacing other industries in the market. Earnings per share (EPS) for the memory chip sector are projected to grow 384% in 2026 and 40% in 2027. Compared to the semiconductor product sector, earnings are projected to grow 98% in 2026 and 36% in 2027. The MSCI ACWI index, or global stock index, is projected to grow 18% in 2026 and 15% in 2027. Furthermore, the valuation of most memory chip stocks is still relatively inexpensive and undervalued compared to the overall chip index (data from Bloomberg as of June 22, 2569).

Investment opportunities with the ASP-MEM fund.

Amidst the growth trends in the memory chip industry, investors seeking a systematic approach to this theme can consider investing through funds specifically designed to invest in memory stocks. One such option is... The Asset Plus Memory Chip Equity Fund (ASP-MEM) is prohibited from being sold to retail investors. Which has an investment policy of investing in core funds. Roundhill Memory ETF Focusing on investing in companies whose primary revenue or profit comes from the global memory chip business.

The fund's investment structure focuses on investing in companies within the memory industry value chain, including DRAM, HBM, NAND, and related data storage systems, to directly reflect the growth of the memory industry.

The core fund also diversifies its investments into key players in the global memory industry, including major manufacturers in Asia and the US who significantly influence market price and demand trends.

Furthermore, the fund offers investors access to the AI ​​theme from a different perspective than simply investing in computing chips, focusing on "data infrastructure," which is playing an increasingly important role in the modern digital economy.

The Asset Plus Memory Chip Equity Fund (ASP-MEM) is prohibited from being sold to retail investors. This fund is managed by Asset Plus Management Company. ASP-MEM The investment policy focuses on the Roundhill Memory ETF (the underlying fund), an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) listed and traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (Cboe BZX) in the United States. Roundhill Financial Inc. acts as the investment advisor.

The net exposure to the aforementioned core fund will, on average, be no less than 80% of the fund's net asset value (NAV) over the accounting year. The core fund aims to generate investment value through investment in equity securities of companies engaged in the memory industry.

The fund employs dynamic hedging against exchange rate risk at the discretion of the fund manager (0% – 105% of the risk value).

The investment objectives of the ASP-MEM fund.

80-100% of the fund's NAV is invested in the Roundhill Memory ETF, a pure play fund that selects leading memory companies with more than 50% of their revenue or profits derived from the memory business.

0-20% of NAV will be allocated to direct investment in memory companies worldwide. This ratio is subject to change depending on prevailing investment conditions and/or the fund manager's discretion. (Data from Asset Plus Management Company as of June 25, 2569)

The underlying fund (RoundhillMemoryETF) has delivered outstanding performance, yielding a 16.85% return over the past month, while its performance since inception (as of April 2, 2026) has yielded a return of 166.03% (Source: Bloomberg, as of June 30, 2026).

The Asset Plus Memory Chip Equity Fund (ASP-MEM), which is prohibited from being sold to retail investors, will have its initial public offering (IPO) from July 6-8, 2569.

Investors are advised to understand the product characteristics, return conditions, and risks before making an investment decision. This fund is offered exclusively to institutional investors, high net worth individuals, and ultra-high net worth individuals. Due to its concentrated investment in the Information Technology industry, investors face the risk of significant investment losses. The fund hedges against exchange rate fluctuations at the fund manager's discretion. Investors may experience gains or losses from exchange rate fluctuations or receive a return lower than their initial investment.