Memory prices are expected to stay high for several more years as demand continues to outpace supply, according to Micron Technology, one of the three major manufacturers of memory chips alongside Samsung and SK Hynix. Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron's CEO, warned investors that demand will exceed supply in 2027 and 2028, with a stronger shortage than in 2026. Micron has already sold most of its production for next year at prices "much higher" than this year, according to The Register. The current RAM shortage has led to price increases across the smartphone and PC markets this year. Samsung recently raised the prices of its Galaxy S26 series, with the base model featuring 256 GB of storage increasing from 899 to 999 euros. Similar price hikes are also being seen in new smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Micron’s revenue for the last quarter reached 54.25 billion dollars, compared to 11.3 billion dollars in the same period of 2025. DRAM used in PCs, smartphones, and servers generated 39.8 billion dollars for this quarter, a 343% increase compared to one year ago. The gross margin for the division selling DRAM to data centers has risen sharply, from 41% to 90% in one year. The AI industry is a major driver of the increased demand for memory, as data centers dedicated to AI are consuming large amounts of production. AI chips, especially those from Nvidia, rely on HBM, a type of DRAM that is stacked in layers to operate much faster. However, this memory comes from the same silicon wafers used to make the RAM in consumer devices. According to Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, even if the share of HBM wafers used by the three main DRAM manufacturers reaches 30% of total DRAM production by the end of next year, the share of HBM in the supply will only reach 13% in terms of storage capacity. This is because HBM consumes more than three times as many wafers as conventional DRAM, significantly reducing the supply capacity of conventional DRAM. KB Securities expects Samsung's HBM selling prices to more than double in 2027. Manufacturers are increasingly interested in shifting their production toward servers. Micron abandoned its consumer brand Crucial in early 2026 and introduced a 512 GB memory bar reserved for servers in mid-September. Micron plans to invest 25 billion dollars in the first half of its new fiscal year to support demand, but not before 2028. Executives warned that these factories would not immediately lower prices. Sanjay Mehrotra admitted he does not know when supply and demand will return to balance. In addition to AI, the humanoid robot sector is also a major consumer of RAM and could further increase pressure on manufacturers. Micron estimates that each robot could require no less than 200 gigabytes of RAM and several terabytes of NAND. The company estimates that humanoid robots could represent an annual total memory consumption of 240 million gigabytes of RAM if the upper range of delivery estimates for 2030 is taken.