Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Raise CPU Prices Amid AI Shortages

CPU manufacturers Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. are raising prices by an average of 10% to 15% as a surge in AI infrastructure demand strains global supply chains. The price hikes, which began in late March and are expected to continue into April 2026, stem from a shift in production capacity toward server processors and high-bandwidth memory to support AI hyperscalers, leaving the consumer market constrained.

Supply shortages have drastically extended lead times for PC and server manufacturers. Order windows that previously took two weeks have stretched to between eight and 26 weeks, with some data center products facing six-month delays and Intel-powered Chromebooks seeing lead times up to one year. Lenovo Group Limited specifically reported shortages of high-end Xeon 6 Granite Rapids processors, forcing some customers to revert to older chip generations or switch to Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

In response to these constraints, some PC makers are pivoting toward Arm-based CPUs to bypass the x86 supply crunch. Intel executives confirmed that price updates were issued to original equipment manufacturers to manage the high demand across client and data center segments. While Intel noted that these price adjustments remain modest compared to the volatility seen in the AI memory chip market, industry sources expect supply conditions to remain tight through the second quarter of 2026.