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Intel CEO notes memory supply constraints may persist until 2028
Monday, February 9, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Intel CEO reports that key memory suppliers do not anticipate any relief in supply constraints until 2028, citing frequent discussions with major industry players regarding memory shortages affecting customers.
Context
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan recently warned investors that global memory supply constraints are expected to persist until 2028, citing high-level discussions with the industry’s three dominant manufacturers: Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology. This shortage is primarily driven by the massive high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and DRAM requirements of next-generation AI infrastructure, which Tan identified as the single largest bottleneck currently facing his customers and the broader data center market.
The crunch is intensifying as Nvidia prepares to launch its advanced Rubin architecture, which consumes significantly higher volumes of memory than previous generations. Current market data suggests this imbalance is already driving extreme volatility, with some DRAM contract prices projected to surge by up to 95% in the first quarter of 2026. For Intel, these prolonged shortages pose a significant risk to its data center and foundry turnaround, as the physical supply of memory components now dictates the deployment pace for the entire AI hardware ecosystem.
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