Got Memory?

We’re in the middle of Q4. The final stretch of the year has officially begun. But if you were hoping for a change in the upward price trend in memory, you have to think again. According to J.P. Morgan analysts, we are just at the beginning of the memory “Hunger Games,” and this memory-hungry trend will drive a multi-year upcycle in the global memory market.

But J.P. Morgan is not the only one. Nearly every analyst firm and memory maker is now warning of looming NAND and DRAM shortages that will send memory prices skyrocketing over the coming months and years, with some even predicting a shortage that will last a decade.

However, as Tom's Hardware points out, this shortage is not simply a matter of demand rising too quickly. Supply is also being redirected. Over the past decade, NAND and DRAM manufacturers have learned that unchecked production expansion leads to collapse. After each boom, the subsequent oversupply destroyed margins, so the response this cycle has been more restrained.

This means that – unlike previous years – the current situation is more severe and there are no signs of relief in sight.

So brace yourself for rising prices in 2026 in both DRAM and NAND, and sign up for our next webinar on December 11, where we will take a closer look at the driving forces behind the current market situation and provide an outlook on what lies ahead.

Because careful preparation and long-term planning take the edge off these severe market swings.

Enjoy the read, and reach out if you have any questions or need memory!

DRAM Prices Show no Signs of Cooling

Chipmakers are repeatedly suspending new enterprise quotes, indicating that even steeper climbs are ahead as supply remains constrained. DDR4 contract prices may rise by more than 30% in Q4, with certain models increasing by over 50%, which is likely to drive DDR3 prices upward as well. The DDR4 supply gap could widen to 10–15% over the next three quarters, with bottlenecks in backend packaging and testing adding further pressure.

Tight Supply for a Decade?

Nearly every industry analyst and memory maker is sounding alarms about severe NAND and DRAM shortages, driven by surging demand from AI absorbing the majority of the global memory and flash capacity.

Unlike previous cycles, the current squeeze is intensified by extraordinary AI and hyperscaler requirements, resulting in a widespread supply crunch across the sector. And while the nature of memory manufacturing is cyclical in nature, the scale and urgency are unprecedented.

A quick solution is unlikely, as explained in this article.

Fab Equipment Spending on the Rise Again

Worldwide 300mm fab equipment spending is expected to surpass $100 billion for the first time in 2025, with a projected growth of $374 billion by 2028. Logic & Micro equipment lead this expansion, and memory ranks second with 136 billion over three years.

DRAM-related equipment investment is expected to exceed $79 billion from 2026 to 2028, with 3D NAND investment reaching $56 billion over the same period. AI training and inference have driven comprehensive demand increases across various types of memory.

Memory Market Outlook for 2026/2027

The semiconductor memory industry is entering a new cycle, marked by both disruption and opportunity. In our next webinar on December 11, we cast an eye on what’s ahead in the semiconductor memory market in 2026 and beyond. What are the drivers of the market? What to look out for? What strategies are there to navigate geopolitics and tariffs for a resilient supply chain?

We keep it short and crisp: a 30-minute presentation and a 10-minute Q&A at two different times on the same day.

Valuable Insights on DDR3/DDR4 and NAND

Currently, all eyes are on the DRAM market, and understandably so. With DDR4 prices climbing week by week amid tightening supply, industry headlines are dominated by the vicious cycle of the ongoing capacity crunch and spiraling prices. But while the spotlight is fixed on DRAM, a quieter and potentially more disruptive shortage is developing in NAND flash.

We held two webinars earlier this year, one on the state of eMMC, and one on the transition from DDR3/ DDR4 to next-gen. DRAM technologies.

Watch them here.

Counterfeit products pose health and safety threats but also impact the economic growth of legitimate businesses. Traditional digital authentication via challenge–response with stored keys is increasingly susceptible to key leakage and cloning.

Together with RAMXEED, we have outlined a FeRAM-based, encryption-less authentication (“spectral authentication”) approach that leverages the intrinsic analog pulsation signature generated during FeRAM switching.

Read all about it here.

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