The AI infrastructure gold rush just triggered a memory chip crisis that won't end anytime soon. Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi told CNBC the shortage will stretch through 2027, with prices already climbing as hyperscalers gobble up supply for data centers. The crunch is hitting everything from smartphones to laptops, and consumer electronics companies are warning that price hikes are coming. With memory manufacturers needing at least two years to bring new capacity online, the semiconductor industry is facing what analysts are calling a "super cycle" - and everyday devices are about to get more expensive.
The AI boom just created a memory problem that's about to hit your wallet. Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi dropped a warning last week that should concern anyone planning to buy a smartphone or laptop soon - the memory chip shortage gripping the industry won't ease until 2027, and prices are climbing right now.
"Most of the memory from the top players is going directly to AI infrastructure, but many other products need memory, so those other markets are starved today because there is no capacity left for them," Ghazi told CNBC in an interview. The semiconductor design tool company sits at the center of chip development, giving Ghazi a clear view of the supply crunch unfolding across the industry.
The math is brutal. Tech giants are pouring tens of billions into AI data centers, and those facilities need high-bandwidth memory chips to power the servers running large language models. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron - the three biggest memory manufacturers - are directing virtually all their output to AI infrastructure. That leaves smartphone makers, PC manufacturers, and other electronics companies fighting over scraps.
Memory chip prices have historically cycled between shortage and glut, but this time feels different. Industry analysts are calling it a "super cycle," and Ghazi agrees. "Now it's a golden time for the memory companies," he said. The shortage isn't just theoretical - it's already pushing prices up across the supply chain.
, the world's largest PC maker, is watching the situation closely. CFO Winston Cheng told CNBC last week that "we will see memory prices going up," noting the fundamental imbalance between high demand and constrained supply. His assessment: Lenovo is "very confident that the cycle would be such that we could pass on the cost" to consumers.
