Intel CEO Says AI Memory Shortage Will Last Two to Three Years

Tan made the remarks in Singapore at the Asia Future Forward event organized by DBS Bank, according to a TechRadar report citing Wccftech. Posts on X, including one from user Theresa Perrin, flagged the comments. Tan said AI hardware "will stay in short supply for the next 2 to 3 years," referring primarily to memory, and attributed the squeeze to "persistent constraints in the underlying tech supply chain."

His comments cover the RAM, GPUs and, to a lesser degree, CPUs used in data centers running AI workloads. Because chip makers earn more from supplying AI customers, consumer memory is likely to be even harder to come by than the data-center variety, TechRadar reported.

Separately, a new Barclays report cited in the same account shows contract pricing from chip makers for DDR4 memory rose 24% over the past three months, while DDR5 contract prices climbed 20%. Barclays also said supply levels at memory maker Micron will remain constrained through 2028, a forecast that includes the current year.

The contract-price increases tracked in the Barclays figures match what has already reached retail shelves. TechRadar reported that DDR5 memory prices in Germany are now 544% higher than they were before the RAM crisis began last July.

The forecasts now circulating from Barclays and from Intel's chief executive point to tight memory supply running to roughly 2029, with much of the market converging on the view that the shortage will persist to the end of the decade. TechRadar said 2027 is expected to look much like this year, meaning further memory price increases as well as pressure on other components.

Micron has also said that robots, described as "physical AI," will consume a substantial share of RAM supply in the future, adding a further source of demand to an already strained market.