For months, the prices of RAM (random access memory) and storage have been on fire. Crucial for any computing device, these components have become prohibitively expensive in the last six months or so. The impact has been visible. The amount of RAM in new phones has become stagnant, or has even come down in case of mid-range phones. The prices of laptops have increased. But now suddenly RAM prices are cooling down. There is a big price cut on RAM in the last few days. Chatter suggests this is because OpenAI is failing to buy the amount of RAM it promised to buy last year.
The implications are several. If accurate, it also hints at slowing down AI buzz as well as indicates that AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic may find the going tough in future.
RAM prices on global sites like NewEgg and Amazon are down in the last few days and people have started suggesting that it is likely due to OpenAI. The buzz suggests the AI giant may have overcommitted to large-scale memory purchases in 2025 and is now pulling back, leaving excess supply in the market and putting pressure on prices. There is no official confirmation on what exactly is happening, or whether OpenAI is directly responsible. But something is afoot.
To understand what’s happening and why OpenAI is being linked to this shift, it’s important to go back a few months. Around October 2025, OpenAI entered into major partnerships with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as part of its Stargate AI infrastructure initiative. Both these Korean companies are two of the largest RAM makers in the world.
Buzz has been that OpenAI promised to buy up to 40 per cent of all RAM from the Korean giants over the next few years. To serve the demand, Hynix and Samsung planned to scale next-generation AI data centres globally while ramping up the production of advanced memory chips. The partnerships targeted a capacity of up to 900,000 DRAM wafers per month, a number that roughly translates to a significant share of global supply.
This surge in demand played a major role in pushing RAM prices to record highs. At one point, 32GB DDR5 kits that were selling for under $100 jumped to nearly $400, as suppliers struggled to keep up with demand from AI data centres.
However, things now appear to be shifting. Reports suggest that OpenAI is slowing down or recalibrating some of its aggressive expansion plans. Because reasons. The funding for AI infrastructure is apparently getting constrained, and the war in the Gulf hasn’t helped. In fact, OpenAI is supposed to create a major and huge Stargate AI server facility in Abu Dhabi. But with the current US-Iran war, and the changing dynamics in the region, there is a strong possibility that it may not pan out, or may get significantly delayed.
In other words, major players in the AI world seem to be getting a little more cautious about spending money. And it is with this background there is chatter that OpenAI is no longer planning to buy as much RAM as it was hoping to.
This is where the current price drop comes in. RAM prices haven’t exactly “crashed”, but there are signs of going off the slope. For instance, DDR5 memory kits have seen price drops of up to $100 in recent weeks, with some 32GB kits now retailing closer to $370, down from peaks of around $490.
This decline has fuelled discussions on social media that, while the supply of the RAM is strong, the demand has dropped a bit causing impact on pricing.
Or is it Google and its TurboQuant?
But there is one more factor. And that too is being linked with the sudden slide in RAM prices. Google recently introduced its TurboQuant algorithm, a new AI compression technique designed to significantly reduce the RAM required for AI models. The paper that Google researchers have published shows that the new algorithm can reduce memory usage for AI models by up to six times without affecting accuracy.
While this is not yet part of the AI infrastructure, if the algorithm holds true and is functional in real use, it can significantly reduce the memory needed to train and run large AI models. While Google has just announced the algorithm, the mere introduction has sparked debate across the industry, with some analysts suggesting it may have contributed to the recent shift in memory chip prices.
Irrespective of whether it is Google’s new AI algorithm or if it is the OpenAI and Hynix demand and supply mismatch, currently the RAM prices are in a free fall. And that, if it continues, may come across as good news for phone and laptop buyers.
