Samsung Electronics hikes certain memory chip prices by up to 60% as shortage worsens

Samsung Electronics this month raised prices of certain memory chips — now in short supply due to the global race to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers — by as much as 60% compared to September, two people with knowledge of the hikes said.

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The move follows the world’s biggest memory chipmaker’s decision to delay a formal announcement of pricing for supply contracts in October, they said, adding that pricing details are typically announced each month.

Soaring prices for these memory chips, which are mainly used in servers, are likely to add to stress for big companies building out data infrastructure. They also threaten to increase the costs of other products like smartphones and computers in which they are also used.

Many of the largest server makers and data center builders are “now accepting that they won't get nearly enough product. The price premiums being paid are extreme,” Tobey Gonnerman, president of semiconductor distributor Fusion Worldwide, told Reuters.