There is an outlook that memory prices will climb steeply as Nvidia equips its artificial intelligence (AI) servers with low-power (LP) DDR memory semiconductors used in mobile devices instead of conventional server DRAM.
On the 19th (local time), market research firm Counterpoint Research projected that, amid a semiconductor shortage, memory prices will rise 50% from current levels in the second quarter next year, and that premium memory prices will double by the end of next year.
Nvidia installed LPDDR, a smartphone memory, instead of DDR, a server memory, in its AI servers. Servers typically use server memory equipped with error-correcting code (ECC), but Nvidia chose LPDDR for its superior power efficiency because server-grade products consume more power.
As a result, demand for LPDDR is surging, and there is a strong possibility that suppliers will shift to producing LPDDR instead of server memory, which could further intensify the shortage of server memory. Low-end server memory is already in short supply, and prices are climbing steeply.
However, Counterpoint's principal analyst MS Hwang said, "A bigger risk is approaching in the premium memory segment," adding, "Nvidia's memory transition is of a scale that could bring tectonic shifts to the supply chain."