The global squeeze on memory chips isn't going away soon — and it may get worse before it gets better.
According to Tom's Hardware, SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung says the current memory shortage will deepen rather than ease, calling 2027 the "worst year" for the crunch. He forecasts that tight supply of RAM will persist at least until 2030, the turn of the decade.
The grim outlook is notable for both its timing and its source. Tom's Hardware reports that Kwak shared the forecast on the same day SK Hynix was listed on the Nasdaq — a moment companies usually reserve for upbeat messaging to investors. Instead, the chief of one of the world's largest memory makers used it to signal years of constrained supply ahead.
SK Hynix is a leading producer of DRAM, the memory that powers everything from laptops and smartphones to the data-center servers running today's AI systems. When a manufacturer of that scale publicly warns that demand will outstrip supply for years, it's a signal that pricing and availability pressures are likely to ripple across the industry.
The source item does not detail the specific causes behind the shortage or name the products most affected, so the precise drivers remain unstated here. What is clear from Kwak's comments is the expected duration: a multi-year stretch of scarcity, peaking in 2027 and lasting through the end of the decade.
Why it matters: memory is a core ingredient in nearly every computing device, so a shortage this long could mean higher prices and tighter supply for consumers and businesses alike well into the 2030s.