AI Is Consuming the World’s Memory Supply — Will Apple Pay the Price?

Rich Duprey

Sat, July 11, 2026 astatine 8:39 AM CDT 5 min read

Quick Read

• Dylan Patel warns that representation proviso grows conscionable 20 to 30 percent annually portion AI request doubles yearly, creating a severe, multi-year shortage crossed user electronics.

• Apple secured precedence representation allocations done semipermanent supplier agreements, but per-device costs could inactive surge from $50 to implicit $150.

• Apple's premium pricing powerfulness and high-margin services concern permission lower-margin competitors with acold less options erstwhile representation costs spike.

• This lithium shaper surpassed a $1B backstage valuation, joining immoderate of America's astir almighty startups. Now you tin put successful EnergyX alongside planetary giants similar General Motors, but lone done July 16. (sponsor)

Artificial quality has go the exertion industry's biggest customer, and that displacement is changing acold much than information centers. Every caller AI server requires tremendous amounts of high-bandwidth representation (HBM) and precocious DRAM, leaving chipmakers racing to grow production. Yet caller factories instrumentality years to build, not months. The effect is simply a proviso compression that is spreading beyond AI infrastructure and into mundane electronics. 

For investors, the important question is nary longer whether representation prices volition rise, but which companies tin grip the unit amended than everyone else. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sits squarely successful that debate.

AI Is Winning the Battle for Memory

Appearing connected WisdomTree's The Next Big Thing podcast, SemiAnalysis laminitis Dylan Patel argued that galore investors underestimate however terrible the representation shortage could become. According to Patel, representation manufacturers are expanding accumulation capableness by astir 20% to 30% annually, portion request tied to AI is doubling each year. That mathematics simply doesn't work.

His decision was straightforward: representation prices are apt to support climbing due to the fact that proviso cannot drawback demand.

Patel besides warned that AI customers volition progressively outbid user electronics companies for disposable memory. If that happens, smartphones, laptops, and tablets whitethorn go little charismatic customers for suppliers, with capableness redirected toward AI accelerators that make overmuch higher profits.

To enactment that into perspective, if representation becomes the limiting factor, user electronics companies won't conscionable wage much -- they whitethorn person less chips careless of price.

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