Chip crunch: how the AI boom is stoking prices of less trendy memory

The global rush by chipmakers to produce AI chips is tightening supply of less glamorous chips used in smartphones, computers and servers, spurring panic buying by some customers and a surge in their prices, industry executives and analysts said.

The unexpected ripple effect of the AI boom is giving a much-needed boost to memory chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics, which has lagged rivals in offering advanced AI chips and a rally in their share prices.

Supply of the more mundane semiconductors has become so tight that the global memory chip…