The global memory shortage will continue through 2028, according to Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and Samsung executives this week. Mehrotra expects demand for Micron's high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and server DRAM to exceed available supply for at least the next two years.
Micron has already accounted for 75 percent of its memory output for 2027, with most current sales discussions centered on 2028. The company no longer competes in consumer RAM after exiting its Crucial brand in December 2025, leaving manufacturing capacity focused entirely on AI and server deployments.
This shift constrains supply for consumer devices. Prices for HBM in 2027 are significantly higher than 2026 levels. OEMs have responded by offering lower RAM configurations in prebuilt PCs, and memory-dependent consumer electronics—from smartphones to gaming consoles—have seen price increases.
Mehrotra cited several structural constraints. New clean rooms planned for 2028 ramp production gradually, a characteristic of memory manufacturing. Node transitions also yield less productivity gain per wafer. Demand for HBM now surpasses demand for Micron's standard DRAM offerings, reflecting where customers are allocating capital.
The company cannot predict when supply will catch up with demand due to continuous growth in larger AI models, expanded context windows, increased concurrency, and deployment of more agents across enterprise and consumer sectors.
Kim Taewoo, an Executive Vice President at Samsung, corroborated the outlook. HBM will consume almost 30 percent of DRAM manufacturers' total wafer capacity in 2027, up from 20 percent this year—a direct constraint on DRAM volume available for the broader market.
