Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has a disappointing forecast for all computer hardware buyers. He said shortages in the RAM and storage markets in 2027 and 2028 may be more severe than in the current period because company management does not know exactly when production will be able to catch up with the avalanche of demand.
The main driver of the crisis remains the artificial intelligence industry. Increased demand for accelerators requires large amounts of specialized HBM memory, the production of which takes up scarce capacity on standard DRAM wafers. At the same time, it is impossible to quickly correct the situation with new factories: the construction and full startup of clean rooms in semiconductor factories takes several years.
For the average consumer, this means long-term price increases that will inevitably impact the cost of parts for PCs, next-generation graphics cards, and new game consoles. On the other hand, alternative views are emerging: Acer management and prominent investor Michael Burry, for example, doubt the shortage will last that long, suggesting the tech giant may be artificially inciting panic to maintain record profit margins.
