On January 19, Micron Technology (MU.O) announced that the scarcity of memory chips escalated in the previous quarter. The company reaffirmed that, owing to a spike in demand for high-end semiconductors propelled by artificial intelligence infrastructure, this shortage is set to persist beyond the current year.

Manish Bhatia, the Executive Vice President of Operations at Micron, highlighted that the ongoing shortage is of an unprecedented nature, in line with the company's prediction made in December. Bhatia emphasized that high-bandwidth memory, essential for AI accelerators, has taken up a substantial share of the industry's production capacity. This has led to acute memory shortages in traditional sectors, including mobile phones and personal computers.

He further mentioned that manufacturers of personal computers and smartphones have also entered the fray, vying to secure memory chip supplies that will last beyond 2026.