Memory chip mania isn’t going away, with Dan Kim

存储芯片暴涨背后:前美商务部高官聊中国能否改写这局“芯片荒”?

The Economics Show

2026-09-04

33 分钟
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单集简介 ...

In recent months, part of the chip market has been going bananas. Prices for memory chips – which AI data centres use in droves – have rocketed, as US tech companies lock in massive orders. That’s bad news for consumers facing more expensive electronic devices. But what are the broader consequences of misalignment in this market? How will the chip squeeze end? And, as memory chips become a strategic commodity, how are the US and China looking to secure supply? Host Soumaya Keynes is joined by Dan Kim, chief strategy officer at semiconductor analysis firm TechInsights and former chief economist at the CHIPS Program Office at the US Department of Commerce. Further reading:  Why memory chips are the new frontier of the AI revolution Memory chip boom leaves PC and smartphone makers in the cold Maybe the chips are down because memory’s too expensive Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  • Chips are one of those products that everyone cares about.

  • Consumers care about them

  • because they're in every electronic device we own.

  • Tech companies care about them

  • because they are crucial to the AI build out.

  • Politicians and economists care about them

  • because they are central to geoeconomic tensions

  • between the US and China.

  • In the past drama in chips

  • has been focused on logic chips.

  • Those are the ones that process data.

  • But recently another less glamorous corner

  • of the chip market has been going crazy.

  • Memory chips are red hot right now.

  • AI data centers are hoovering them up,

  • pushing up prices and crowding out customers elsewhere.

  • It is a wild time to be in the chips business

  • and today I'm going to try to make sense of it.

  • What are the causes and consequences of this mayhem?

  • And could China play a role