Nvidia's New Chip Sparks Memory Market Shift
Jensen Huang's latest chip, Rubin, requires 288GB of advanced memory, a 260% increase from the H100's 80GB. This has caused a surge in memory prices, with DDR4 16Gb spot prices rising from $5 to $77 in eight months.
The demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) chips is outpacing supply, with Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron controlling the market. These chips are crucial for AI applications, and their production is prioritized over consumer memory.
Consequences:
- DDR4 prices have skyrocketed, with a 32GB kit now costing $150-$180.
- DDR5 kits have jumped from $100 to $650.
- PC shipments are expected to decline by 10-11% in 2026.
- Laptop and phone manufacturers are facing increased costs.
Why This Matters:
- The memory market is undergoing a structural shift towards AI applications.
- The bottleneck for AI scaling has shifted from GPUs to memory and advanced packaging.
- The limiting reagent in AI development is now memory, not GPUs.
Key Players:
- Nvidia: Leading the charge with Rubin chip.
- Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron: Controlling HBM4 supply. 💡