Recently, there has been a dramatic surge in global memory chip prices. Manufacturers like Samsung have raised their quotes by more than 60%, and the tense supply-demand dynamics have reverberated throughout the entire electronics sector. This current wave of price increases is primarily fueled by the soaring demand for AI computing power. AI servers demand eight times the DRAM and three times the NAND compared to conventional servers. In response, manufacturers have reallocated their production capacity towards high-margin products such as HBM. This shift has subsequently led to a scarcity of chips like LPDDR for mobile phones. Memory chips constitute 10% - 20% of the cost of smartphones, and for some flagship models, this proportion even exceeds 30%. The resulting cost pressure has been transferred to end-users. Starting from the second half of 2025, mid-to-high-end mobile phones have generally witnessed price hikes ranging from 100 to 300 yuan. As a pivotal supplier of AI computing power, NVIDIA, despite confronting the pressure from the explosive growth in memory demand, has managed to secure an ample inventory of H100/H200 chips. This was achieved by locking in supply chain capacity well in advance, ensuring there have been no disruptions in supply. The HBM and LPDDR memory utilized in its AI graphics cards, along with the GDDR6 video memory employed in its gaming cards, all continue to enjoy a stable supply.
