High Memory Prices May Persist as Micron Projects Humanoid Robots Will Require 200GB+ DRAM
Micron Technology projects sustained high memory prices driven by demand from physical AI and humanoid robots, which are estimated to require over 200GB of DRAM and several terabytes of NAND flash per unit. The company expects memory market supply to remain tight through fiscal years 2027 and 2028. This shift highlights how memory demand is expanding beyond cloud data centers into edge physical devices, sustaining high hardware costs across the tech ecosystem. It suggests that even if generative software AI demand cools down, physical AI deployments will maintain upward pressure on DRAM and NAND prices. Micron reported strong quarterly financial results driven by server demand and expects supply-demand conditions in 2027–2028 to be tighter than in 2026. The high memory requirement per robot stems from the need for localized, real-time multimodal sensor processing and motion planning without relying entirely on cloud latency.
## BACKGROUND
Physical AI refers to artificial intelligence systems embedded in real-world hardware, such as robots and autonomous vehicles, that perceive their environment and execute physical actions. Unlike digital AI operating purely in cloud servers, physical AI relies heavily on onboard memory, including high-speed DRAM for dynamic spatial computing and NAND flash for massive local data storage.