Rufus Okoro
Samsung Electronics opened new tab this month and reportedly raised prices of certain memory chips, which are now in short supply due to the global race to build AI data centres, by as much as 60% compared to the earlier prices by September 2025.
The United States (U.S) chipmakers rallied sharply on the news, which underlines how the boom in artificial intelligence has stoked intense demand for chip units specifically designed for AI tasks as well as the memory chips used in those units.
The price hike followed a decision by Samsung, the world's biggest memory chipmaker, to delay a formal announcement of pricing for supply contracts made in October, 2025.
Soaring prices for these memory chips, which are mainly used in servers, are likely to add to stress for big companies building out data infrastructure.
They also threaten to increase the costs of other products like smartphones and computers in which they are also used.
Many of the largest server makers and data center builders are now accepting that they won't get nearly enough product.
"The price premiums being paid are extreme," Tobey Gonnerman, the President of semiconductor distributor Fusion Worldwide, told newsmen.
The South Korean firm's contract prices for 32 gigabyte(GB) DDR5 memory chip modules jumped to $239 in November, 2025 up from $149 in September, same year, the report disclosed.
DDR memory chips are used in servers, computers and other devices, assisting with computing performance by temporarily storing data and managing rapid data transfer and retrieval.
"Samsung also lifted prices of 16GB DDR5 and 128GB DDR5 chips by about 50% to $135 and $1,194, respectively. Prices of 64GB DDR5 and 96GB DDR5 have gone up by more than 30%," Gonnerman decried.
The price hikes were confirmed by another source who was briefed by Samsung. The source declined to be identified as the information was not yet public.
However, Samsung declined to comment. It rather announced on November 16, 2025 that it would build a new chip production line at its plant in South Korea, as it expects AI would drive demand for the mid- and long-term period.
RostrumNews
