Investors are betting on a prolonged boom for memory chipmakers amid voracious AI demand that has prompted customers to lock in multiyear contracts with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker and a key supplier to Nvidia, said the “structural shift” differs from past booms because customers are prioritising security of supplies over price amid an acute shortage. That shift is reinforcing expectations that an industry long defined by boom-and-bust cycles may be shaking off its volatile past.
Analysts say the memory sector is facing a supply crunch as chipmakers, which also include Micron Technology, struggle to meet demand driven by a global data centre build-out, making memory a key bottleneck in the AI supply chain.