Ai-powered assistants drive up demand for memory chips

The surging popularity of AI-powered digital assistants has led to an unprecedented spike in demand for memory chips, forcing prices to skyrocket.

Ai's chip-hungry data centers use 70% of the world's supply

Data centers that support AI workloads are the biggest consumers of memory chips, accounting for a staggering 70% of global demand. Foundries like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are struggling to keep up with the insatiable appetite for cutting-edge chips, leaving other tech firms like Ericsson in the lurch.

Ericsson, the Swedish networking equipment giant, relies on Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for its radios and baseband gear. While ASICs are a notch behind the 5nm chips used in smartphones and some AI applications, they're still highly advanced.

Per Narvinger, the head of Ericsson's mobile networks business, explained the predicament: