Samsung Electronics has increased contract prices for its memory chips by up to 60% since September, sources say, as supply tightens and demand from artificial intelligence data center builders surges. The hikes reflect the company’s growing pricing power in a market shared with rivals such as SK Hynix and Micron.

According to industry insiders, Samsung’s 32 GB DDR5 memory chip modules surged to around $239 in November, up from roughly $149 in September—an increase of nearly 60%. Other modules such as 16 GB DDR5 jumped by about 50% to approximately $135, and large-capacity modules like 128 GB DDR5 climbed to near $1,194. DDR5 chips are widely used in servers, high-performance computers, and AI training systems.

The shortage driving these increases is centered in the global race to build out AI-accelerated data centers. Some buyers now accept that supply will fall short of demand and are consenting to steep premiums to secure product. One market executive described the situation as “panic buying” triggered by delayed orders.

Samsung declined to comment on the specific pricing moves. Analysts say the shortage is compounding pressure on device makers, including smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, which recently warned that elevated memory prices have begun pushing up their production costs.

For Samsung, the supply crunch comes at a strategic moment. Its weaker position in advanced AI chip segments has allowed it greater flexibility to leverage pricing in the memory chip market. Some analysts expect quarterly contract pricing increases of 40%–50% through the October–December period—well above the typical industry average of 30%.

At the same time, the broader memory-chip market is shifting quickly. A shortage of memory modules is now influencing orders for non-memory chips, as buyers postpone other purchases in the face of constrained memory supply. Because memory constitutes a relatively small portion of smartphone bill-of-materials by value, those price spikes are expected to ripple outward, increasing costs in consumer electronics and data infrastructure.

Industry watchers are watching how other memory chipmakers respond. Will they follow Samsung’s lead, or will market volume fall if demand cools? The coming quarters will test whether these hikes represent a temporary spike or a longer-term supply-side shift.