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DRAM Prices Explode 401% as One Kilogram Now Costs as Much as 620 Grams of 24K Gold
Wccftech • • business
Key Points:
- Due to a surge in DRAM prices driven by the global AI infrastructure buildout, one kilogram of Korean-manufactured memory chips now costs as much as 620 grams of gold, marking a 401% annual price increase.
- Data from Korea's Trade Statistics Promotion Institute shows DRAM export prices reached $92,183 per kilogram in early August 2023, about 12.5 times higher than prices in January 2023.
- The price hike has led major memory firms like SK hynix and Samsung to award generous bonuses to employees, with Micron's Taiwan workforce reportedly seeking similar rewards.
- The memory shortage and price increases have impacted major companies such as Apple, which has raised product prices and is lobbying the US government to source chips from China's CXMT amid supply constraints.
- Rising memory costs are forcing computer manufacturers to adjust procurement strategies, with products like MSI’s Katana 15 HX laptop using a mix of DDR4 and DDR5 chips, and NVIDIA potentially increasing server prices by 15-17% due to higher memory expenses.
