Story perspectives

Memory Prices Skyrocket Amid AI Chip Demand Surge

1/31/2026

Summary

Story summary

In Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei district, memory prices surged, with 32-gigabyte DDR5 memory sticks now costing 6,878 yuan (US$990), nearly five times their price from September.
Merchant Ye, who has more than a decade in the industry, described this as the most aggressive price increase he has witnessed.
The rise is fueled by global investments in artificial intelligence, prompting Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron to shift production toward high-margin AI memory chips.
That shift reduces supply of standard chips, creating challenges for consumers and opportunities for China's ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp.

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Story summary

In Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei district, memory prices surged, with 32-gigabyte DDR5 memory sticks now costing 6,878 yuan (US$990), nearly five times their price from September.
Merchant Ye, who has more than a decade in the industry, described this as the most aggressive price increase he has witnessed.
The rise is fueled by global investments in artificial intelligence, prompting Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron to shift production toward high-margin AI memory chips.
That shift reduces supply of standard chips, creating challenges for consumers and opportunities for China's ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp.