Two major giants join hands to raise prices! Samsung, SK Hynix's DRAM prices may increase by up to 70%

South Korean media reported that due to the surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI), Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plan to increase server memory prices by up to 70% in the first quarter. Both of these Korean companies are among the world's largest memory chip manufacturers. In November 2025, there were reports that Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, Inc. were facing shortages of old dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) products. This is because these companies have reduced production of old models and shifted focus to producing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) required for advanced AI accelerators. SK Hynix is a major supplier of NVIDIA Corporation's HBM chips. Market news last month indicated that Samsung and SK Hynix had raised the prices of the fifth-generation high-bandwidth advanced memory chips (HBM3E) to be delivered in 2026 by 20%. Chain reaction With Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron shifting a large amount of wafer capacity from traditional DRAM to HBM, the downstream supply chain is facing a triple impact. Imbalance in traditional server memory (DDR5) supply and demand: The wafer area required to produce a 1GB HBM chip is about 2 to 3 times that of traditional DDR5. Due to the high profit margins of HBM, manufacturers prioritize meeting AI demand, leading to compression of DDR4/DDR5 production lines needed for general-purpose servers, which is the core driving force behind the surge in server memory prices this time. Significant increase in supply chain costs: For non-AI servers (such as general cloud, enterprise data centers), memory costs usually account for 15%-25% of the total system cost. This dramatic price fluctuation will force system integrators such as Dell Technologies, Inc. Class C, HP Inc., to adjust prices, ultimately putting pressure on the IT budgets of enterprise customers. Extended delivery times: Delivery times for traditional DRAM are increasing. As manufacturers lock in price increases in the first quarter, some downstream manufacturers have begun hoarding behavior, further exacerbating supply anxiety.