- US tech giants have flown teams to Seoul to secure DRAM supply, leading to intense competition.
- Insiders are calling them DRAM beggars, as hotels near Samsung and SK Hynix HQs fill up.
- The teams are aiming to secure as much supply as possible before prices get worse.
The memory supply has soared in price and value over the last few months. This has already shaken the gaming scene to its core, with massive price hikes expected to strike GPUs soon, something like what we’ve seen with RAM kits.
This crisis started after tech giants began developing AI initiatives to new extremes, and it’s only getting worse.
A new report reveals that US companies like Google and Microsoft are now flying procurement officers to Seoul to secure the dwindling DRAM supply regardless of price. These teams have been dubbed ‘DRAM Beggars’ by industry insiders.
Why it matters: The report confirms that the US Silicon Valley is growing desperate to procure as much DRAM as possible at any price before the crisis gets even worse. This only spells bad news for the struggling gaming industry.
The report clarifies that hotels in the Pangyo and Pyeongtaek areas are filling up with teams scrambling to procure DRAM supplies from the Samsung and SK Hynix HQs.
These South Korean giants together control most of the global DRAM supply chain, after all. Samsung and SK Hynix both demanded 50% to 60% higher prices from customers for server DRAM in Q1 negotiations than in the previous quarter.
Thanks to the growing DRAM sales, Samsung Electronics also hit its first-ever quarterly operating profit, surpassing 20 trillion KRW.
The average fixed transaction price of DRAM surged from $1.40 (for DDR4 8GB) in January of last year to $9.30 in December.
-Chosun.
However, the tech giants are focusing on securing as much supply as possible before memory gets more expensive in the future.
Many DRAM manufacturers are also boosting DRAM production, including SK Hynix, Micron, and Samsung, to keep up with the growing global demand. The expanded supplies could also provide relief to gamers in a few years.
Do you think competition for DRAM will continue to increase through the next few years, or will the AI bubble burst sooner than expected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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