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The big three memory makers told us RAMpocalypse was the unavoidable side effect of the AI revolution. But with one massive report from the Bank of America, that main alibi may have just gone up in flames.So context, the AI Tax on tech has been insane recently with prices going up by an astronomical 700%, and the big three memory makers (Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron) have made serious cash off as the oligopoly that controls around 90% of the global DRAM market.They claim that the reason prices are skyrocketing is because the demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI data centers is so massive, that consumer RAM supplies are naturally drying up. In response, a massive class-action lawsuit in California is calling their bluff and accusing them of price fixing.For these memory makers, the defense should be a simple one: “we aren’t fixing prices, and we’re building new fabs as fast as we can!” You’ve heard a lot of this over the past few months about plans to open new plants to make more memory. BUT, a bombshell new report has potentially demolished that defense.How this alibi collapses
(Image credit: Amazon)According to a South Korean news outlet, a Bank of America report just dismantled the promises of doubled memory production capacity by 2030 — with SK Hynix only likely to bring about one-sixth of its planned new memory capacity online by 2028. Here’s why:Timeline: Setting up the advanced infrastructure needed for these plants is going to take upwards of a decade.Process upgrades: At the same time as it's building new plants, the manufacturing technology needs to be updated in older ones, which impacts output.In late June, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung made the claim that production capacity will be doubled by 2030, which sounds great on paper. However, Bank of America's estimates claim this figure misses out the closure of older plants, and that doubling claim is way too optimistic.For the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, this is going to be a juicy piece of circumstantial evidence. If it can be proven that SK Hynix is moving in slow-motion and severely under-delivering on its capacity promises, that narrative of “doing everything they can” to meet consumer demand is dismantled.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.Instead, it strongly supports the core allegation: they’re happy to keep supply choked and prices inflated permanently.They’re not reading the room
