ADATA Chairman Warns of a Decade-Long Global DRAM Shortage
The chairman of memory manufacturer ADATA has warned that the global DRAM shortage could persist for another ten years. This prolonged deficit is expected to significantly impact the availability and pricing of memory hardware. DRAM and high-bandwidth memory variants are critical bottlenecks for deploying large language models and scaling AI infrastructure. A decade-long shortage could slow down AI development and increase the cost of high-performance computing systems. The shortage is driven by the insatiable demand for high-performance memory like HBM, which uses 3D-stacked DRAM to achieve massive bandwidth. This demand diverts manufacturing capacity away from standard DRAM, tightening the overall supply chain.
## BACKGROUND
Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is a standard type of semiconductor memory used in computers to store data temporarily. High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) is an advanced technology that stacks DRAM chips vertically using through-silicon vias (TSVs) to provide bandwidth exceeding 1 TB/s. Due to the massive computational requirements of modern AI and machine learning, demand for these high-speed memory architectures has surged.