Phison CEO says reminiscence scarcity might final 10 years — thanks, ‘AI’

Between information facilities sprouting up like daisies and previously reasonably priced DDR4 reminiscence lastly fading into the sundown, we’re some tough occasions forward for reminiscence and storage costs—and that’s earlier than basic financial turmoil and tariffs complicate issues even additional. Now, one main flash {hardware} producer’s CEO is even warning that we could possibly be a decade-long scarcity.

Stated CEO is Pua Khein-Seng of Phison Electronics. Phison doesn’t get loads of visibility within the client house, but it surely’s one of many planet’s greatest producers of NAND reminiscence controllers. (Fairly good odds that there are Phison chips within the gadget you’re utilizing to learn these phrases.) In an interview with Tech Taiwan, Pua predicted that we’ll be in a full-on reminiscence scarcity subsequent 12 months, with information facilities made for elevated capability usually and “AI” merchandise specifically creating an industry-wide dearth of {hardware}. That’s very true as massive information facilities transition from typical onerous drives (the final main holdout for the decades-old tech) to solid-state drives.

That will inevitably push the value for flash-based reminiscence and storage increased, and by extension, increase costs on kind of all client electronics, together with telephones, PCs, and graphics playing cards. Even units with largely “invisible” built-in electronics, like screens or headphones, could be affected. With a wind-down of funding following the pandemic, instantly adopted by surging demand for the AI bubble, Pua estimates that we might see a scarcity that lasts so long as a decade, in accordance with TechPowerUp.

I ought to word that the CEO of a significant reminiscence controller provider isn’t precisely an unbiased supply of knowledge on the matter. Phison could possibly be attempting to spur funding or account for some rocky occasions in its personal future. However talking as somebody who’s undoubtedly on the buyer facet of this equation, I don’t see something that’s clearly improper a couple of scarcity prediction. Most different analysts are already predicting increased costs within the quick time period, and it’s definitely potential that the scarcity could possibly be sustained for a number of years.

The largest factor which may change that’s if the “AI” bubble bursts… which could create some larger issues for customers, like discovering a spot to stay or one thing to eat.