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IBM CEO attributes surging DRAM prices to manufacturing shift toward HBM
Monday, February 16, 2026 at 09:35 PM
IBM's CEO notes that spot memory DRAM prices have increased sixfold compared to the previous year, primarily driven by the industry's manufacturing shift toward High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) to support AI infrastructure.
Context
IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna recently alerted investors to a massive surge in hardware costs, noting that spot memory DRAM prices are now 6 times higher than they were last year. This aggressive inflation is primarily driven by a structural shift in manufacturing capacity away from standard components and toward High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Because HBM is essential for the specialized AI servers powering generative models, major chipmakers are reallocating their production lines to meet the explosive demand from hyperscale data centers.
This capacity pivot has created a severe bottleneck in the broader semiconductor supply chain as we enter early 2026. Industry leaders like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are prioritizing high-margin AI memory, which consumes roughly three times more wafer capacity than traditional DRAM. For enterprise buyers, this means significantly higher capital expenditures for traditional IT infrastructure. Market analysts expect these supply constraints and elevated pricing tiers to persist through at least late 2026, as manufacturers struggle to balance legacy enterprise needs with the relentless hardware requirements of the AI boom.
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