We’ve got a serious memory issue on our hands, and not the kind where we forget where we put our keys.
Driving the news: A global shortage of memory chips, or RAM, has started to drive up costs of consumer electronics, particularly in the gaming sector. Kevin Jia, the co-founder of Toronto-based Quoted Tech Computers, told The Peak that the RAM shortage has forced them to raise prices for their custom PCs that are popular with gamers.
“The shortage has definitely caused supply chain problems, and that’s put a lot of upward pricing pressure on consumers,” he said. “Their dollars are admittedly going less far right now.”
Why it’s happening: These RAM chips also happen to power the AI data centers that are currently being built in droves. Because of that demand, other businesses that rely on these chips often can’t secure enough of them (and are paying more for the ones they can get their hands on).
Prices for RAM were up 50% in the last quarter of 2025 and are expected to jump another 40% to 50% by the end of March.
This year, data centers are set to consume ~70% of the world's RAM production, which doesn’t leave a lot of stock for the rest of the world.
Why it matters: These memory chips underpin almost every piece of technology that we have, from laptops and TVs to our cars. With demand from AI companies only growing, the parts used by everyday tech products will become increasingly scarce and, ultimately, more expensive.
What’s next: The AI data center buildout hasn’t even hit its full stride yet — Alphabet alone is expected to spend US$185 billion on data center construction this year. No company in history has ever spent that much on capital expenditures in a single year.—LA