Chip prices soar as makers prioritize data centers

Memory chip prices have doubled in the past year and companies are locking in longer-term contracts with the world’s dominant manufacturers. Memory chip prices have doubled in the past year and companies are locking in longer-term contracts with the world’s dominant manufacturers, the latest sign of supply chain strain from the global AI infrastructure buildout. Chipmakers, including Micron in the US, as well as South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, are prioritizing supplying data centers at the expense of companies making household products and personal computers, Nikkei reported. As demand surges, the Korean firms are locking in five-year deals with dozens of clients; Samsung wants to allocate up to 70% of its production capacity to such agreements. “ Overcapacity is currently disappearing like snow in the sun,” ABN Amro said in a recent note to clients.