SK Hynix CEO Warns 2027 Will Be Memory's 'Worst Year' Ever. Shortages May Outlast the Decade
4 83The CEO of SK Hynix, one of the three largest DRAM producers, predicted to Reuters that the memory industry will see its "worst-ever" supply shortages in 2027, reports the hardware/gaming news site Wccftech: SK Hynix has also forecasted that, given the current market demand, they will fall way short of fulfilling the market demand, and that will continue beyond 2030. The comments from SK Hynix are in line with what Samsung and Micron executives have already said. Samsung has warned of 2027 being the worst year in terms of shortages and that things will continue this way till 2028 and beyond. Meanwhile, Micron has said that the current shortages are only the "first innings" and that both DRAM/NAND supply will be tight, as they are only able to meet 40-50% of the total market demand in the coming years.
Heightened demand from AI customers and multi-year agreements further put pressure on the market. The big three DRAM makers have already prioritized premium DRAM segments such as HBM and LPDDR5X, while commodity memory such as DDR5, DDR4, and entry-level LPDDR RAM has taken a back seat. While these have boosted the profits of SK Hynix, Micron, and Samsung, they have devastated the consumer segment, which is facing the worst kind of price hikes that are affecting all sorts of components and platforms, including PCs, Smartphones, Consoles, etc...
SK Hynix, like Samsung and Micron, is also preparing to embark on a multi-year and multi-billion dollar expansion plan with new fabs and facilities being laid out across South Korea. SK Hynix is also considering the construction of Fabs in the US, Japan, and Southeast Asia, though the final plans are yet to be cemented. Micron recently started construction of its new facility that will be used for DRAM production. As SK Hynix proudly marks its Nasdaq debut, its CEO's sobering forecast serves as a clear reminder: the memory industry is entering its most challenging chapter yet. With 2027 poised to bring the worst supply shortages in history and tight conditions likely persisting beyond 2030, the AI boom is reshaping the entire semiconductor landscape.
4 comments
This AI thing can go downhill in a week or less (Score: 5, Informative)
by itsme1234 ( 199680 ) on Sunday July 12, 2026 @02:02PM (#66234756)
... not that you'd want that with the way they're entrenched in all the financial everything going around us but it's possible for this to pop way faster than it built up.
Re:Stop selling it to AI datacenters (Score: 5, Insightful)
by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Sunday July 12, 2026 @03:03PM (#66234856)
Why shouldn't they sell to whoever is willing to pay them the most? At best a few honest people get some cheap RAM and a bunch of scalpers make a tidy profit selling the RAM they bought to the data centers. At least if the manufacturers are the ones making the additional money they can invest back into production capacity. The same cannot be said when it's the scalpers who are soaking up the excess money being left on the table.
Boom and Bust (Score: 5, Informative)
by mistergrumpy ( 7379416 ) on Sunday July 12, 2026 @02:29PM (#66234794)
While the current situation seems unprecedented, semiconductor manufacturing has been a cyclical boom-bust business for pretty much forever. Ramp up as fast as possible for a year, make a giant backlog of parts the next year, lay almost everyone off, and then in another year start the cycle over. I'm glad I was able to work on the edges of the field and avoid the worst of it.
Re:Compulsory Licensing (Score: 5, Insightful)
by hwstar ( 35834 ) on Sunday July 12, 2026 @02:57PM (#66234850)
No need to increase the workforce, just reallocate what is currently being produced or face compulsory licensing. Many countries have done this for pharmaceuticals, but it isn't just limited to those. Just the mere threat of compulsory licensing should cause the memory companies to start re-allocating more memory to the PC and server sector. They will do anything to avoid the government taking away control of their IP. They would rather reallocate and retain control then be subject to compulsory licensing.
Nations that have formally utilized compulsory licensing in the past include:
Canada: Long used compulsory licensing, especially for pharmaceuticals, and streamlined its usage during public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
United States: Has used or threatened to use compulsory licensing for medical products and government uses.
Germany & Italy: Have issued compulsory licenses, with Germany utilizing them for patents relating to medical treatments.Israel: Invoked compulsory licenses during health emergencies to secure medications.Middle-Income Countries:India: Issued a famous compulsory license in 2012 for a life-saving cancer drug (Sorafenibtosylate).
Thailand & Indonesia: Have a history of issuing compulsory licenses to lower the costs of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis treatments.
Russia: Has used compulsory licensing for critical drugs such as Remdesivir and continues to utilize it as an active legal tool.Brazil: Issued compulsory licenses in the past to combat high prices on essential antiretroviral medications.