25 Aug 2026
Signal Headquarters
Vol. I
No. 237

Hyperscalers are spending ~50% of CapEx on memory, with DRAM/NAND markets running ~30% short of demand.

The case

Memory chip makers operate at 80-90% gross margins, higher than Nvidia's approximately 70% gross margin.

“Nvidia is up there at like 70%, the Mory guys are at 80 to 90% now.”
Nathan Labenz · 22 Aug 2026

The AI inference bottleneck is not compute but data movement, because running larger models requires moving weights and the KV cache into compute units.

“The inference problem is not really a compute problem because as the models get bigger, you now need to move the weights and of course what we call the KV cache into the compute units. And that is essentially a data movement problem.”
Kunle Olukotun · 9 Jul 2026

DRAM, NAND, and PCB markets are currently running approximately 30% short of demand.

“We're already like 30, we're 30% short all these things as we are now.”
Patrick O'Shaughnessy · 9 Jun 2026

Microsoft, Meta, and Google are each on track to spend over 50% of their revenue on capex in 2026.

“Microsoft, Meta and Google are all on in line to spend over 50% of revenue on capex this year.”
Martin Casado · 8 Jun 2026

Micron is achieving 80-85% gross margins on HBM memory due to AI-driven demand, indicating severe supply constraint.

“Micron producing numbers where they have 80 85% gross margins.”
Andrew Feldman · 26 May 2026

Railway's servers have appreciated in value due to rising RAM prices.

“The servers have actually appreciated in value because RAM has gone up in general.”
Jake Cooper · 20 May 2026

The pushback

Either Intel or Samsung will break capital discipline and overbuild semiconductor capacity, ending the current supply constraint.

“One of Intel and Samsung they're not going to stay disciplined. They will break.”
Gavin Baker · 20 May 2026

Topics

AI Hardware DemandData Center CapexMemory ChipsSemiconductorsSupply Chains

Signal Headquarters · compiled from attributed public discussion. Last updated 2026-08-22.