Acer CEO Challenges Memory Chip Shortage Forecasts

Acer CEO Jason Chen has dismissed predictions that the global memory chip shortage will last until 2030, arguing that major suppliers use such forecasts to protect high profit margins. Chen asserts that supply for most RAM and SSD types has already stabilized, with the exception of high-end DDR5 and niche CPUs. He suggests that some manufacturers project long-term shortages to signal price maintenance and avoid antitrust issues while AI hyperscalers hoard memory for data centers.

Chen predicts that average PC prices will rise by 5% to 20% through the end of 2026 and peak in the first half of 2027, before potentially declining in the second half of that year. This outlook contrasts with forecasts from SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, who expect tight supply to persist through 2030 and beyond 2027, respectively. Adata Chairman Chen Li-bai also forecasted that elevated prices could last for a decade.

To mitigate costs, Acer, HP, and Asus have begun integrating chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The Chinese manufacturer recently entered mass production of its fifth-generation technology platform, which uses quadruple patterning to produce lower-cost memory. This development supports the Government of China's goal of reducing reliance on foreign semiconductors amid U.S. export controls. Additionally, some Lenovo models have utilized SSDs from Yangtze Memory Technologies.