The recent surge in the hardware market, especially memory prices, has reached jaw-dropping proportions, with no relief in sight.For example, Team Group Technology has warned that shortages are not a short-term phenomenon. The real peak will fall in the first and second quarters of 2026. At that time, the market will have a "take what you have at the price" situation, and it will even extend to 2027.
As for the reason behind it, it is naturally the huge demand for AI. According to the latest disclosure from Moore's Law Is Dead (MLID),OpenAI is not only hoarding most of the world's memory supply, it is even frantically buying DDR5 memory for consumers at retail.
MLID has learned from multiple sources, including retailers and memory suppliers, that OpenAI employees were seen walking into retail stores trying to purchase as much DDR5 memory as possible.
What's more noteworthy is that these employees are not limited to ECC memory commonly used in servers, but also consumer-grade DDR5 memory designed for gamers.
Interestingly, there is speculation that OpenAI is hoarding the global DRAM supply because it has "sufficient cash," but the reality is completely different.
OpenAI is not yet profitable and is expected to need up to $400 billion in funding over the next year to fulfill its signed contracts.