From AI data centres to your next smartphone: The memory bottleneck is everyone’s problem

The memory shortage risks becoming a broader supply-chain problem. Unlike the pandemic-era chip crunch, which was driven largely by logistics and temporary disruptions, today’s shortage stems from a structural reorientation of manufacturing.

February 22, 2026

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Since 2024, lower production of conventional DRAM by major memory manufacturers combined with rising demand for advanced memory from cloud providers and tech giants building AI data centers, is reshaping the global memory supply chain.

In this opinion piece authored by Alex He, he assessses and explains what could trigger a new round of global supply-chain strain, how the memory chip shortage is likely to affect us all and the road ahead.

"The memory-chip shortage should be understood as a structural stress test of the global supply chain rather than a temporary disruption. While capacity expansion, improved …

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