Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence How AI Created an Unprecedented Memory Chip Crisis
Feb 4, 2026
Vlad Savov, Bloomberg News technology editor who covers consumer and data-center tech. MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research and memory-market specialist. They explore the sudden DRAM and NAND scarcity, why high-bandwidth memory is critical for AI, how panic ordering and geopolitical shifts worsened supply, and which firms and Chinese upstarts are racing to close the gap.
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Demand And Supply Shifts Created A Time Gap
- The shortage stems from both surging AI-driven demand and supply-side shifts toward higher-margin advanced chips.
- Legacy chip capacity gaps exist because manufacturers reallocated equipment to advanced AI-related products.
Prepare For Inflection Points, Not Exact Prices
- Plan for inflection points rather than trying to predict exact price magnitudes during panic-driven markets.
- Focus on direction and timing of change to make better allocation decisions under shortage conditions.
Legacy Nodes Face Acute Shortages
- Legacy nodes like LPDDR4 are in short supply as suppliers shift to newer nodes powering AI chips.
- Legacy chip shortages will pressure smartphones, PCs, and automakers that rely on older process nodes.