As cloud providers shifted from AI training to inference, conventional DRAM contract prices jumped 93% to 98% in a single quarter — and on TrendForce's count of the first quarter of 2026, global DRAM revenue hit $97 billion, up 81%
TrendForce's survey for the first quarter of 2026 reported that conventional DRAM contract prices increased by 93% to 98% quarter-over-quarter. The price rise contributed to an 81% quarter-over-quarter increase in global DRAM industry revenue, reaching $97 billion. The shift in AI applications from LLM training to AI inference is expanding memory procurement needs.
Verified 2026-08-08
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Memory chips are needed to run AI, not just train it, and tight supply is pushing their prices up.
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- Astera Labs, whose connectivity chips link accelerators inside rack-scale AI systems, reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $584.9 million, up 154% year over year and 49% sequentially
- Cerebras Systems, which describes itself as the maker of the world's fastest AI infrastructure, reported for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 a record $141.9 million in GAAP cloud and other services revenue, up 265 percent year-over-year
- AMD's Data Center segment, which sells Instinct AI accelerators and EPYC server processors, posted third-quarter 2026 revenue of a record $8.5 billion, up 97% year over year
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