Stores in Japan are limiting how many memory chips customers can buy. Around the world, prices for these chips are changing very quickly, making it hard for companies to estimate costs. This is because the fast growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is causing a big problem in the technology industry.
AI needs a lot of memory chips. Big technology companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are building large AI centers that use many chips. These centers will spend much more money on AI servers in the next few years. An AI server needs much more memory than a normal server.
To meet this demand, the main memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, are changing their production. They are making fewer chips for phones and laptops and more special chips for AI. These AI chips are more profitable but harder to make. Making one AI chip uses space that could make two or more regular chips.
This means fewer chips are available for regular electronics. Because of this, the price of computer memory has gone up a lot. Some prices have more than doubled. Companies that make phones and computers might have to raise their prices by 20 to 30 percent. This could cause fewer people to buy new devices.
More chips will not be available soon. Factories are working at full speed, and new factories take years to build. Experts believe this change is permanent because AI now needs a much higher amount of memory overall. Data centers have won the competition for silicon, and consumers will likely pay more for electronics.