SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says the biggest bottleneck in artificial intelligence is not computing power but memory supply. During a recent second-quarter earnings conference call, Musk said the key limit on expanding AI computing capacity is memory. [1][3]
Musk said memory production is increasing by about 20% a year, while demand tied to AI infrastructure is surging by about 200% a year. He said that kind of imbalance is pushing memory-chip prices higher. [1][3][4]
The comments have drawn attention across the AI and semiconductor industries, including to memory-chip makers Micron and SanDisk, whose shares have benefited from stronger demand expectations. Recent concerns that AI investment could slow had pulled the stocks back from recent highs, but market watchers say the shortage is likely to remain a short-term concern only for investors, not a sign of weakening demand. [1][3][4]
Manufacturers are not able to ramp up capacity quickly enough to close the gap. Micron management said in June that additional production capacity would not be available until the middle of 2027 and that a new manufacturing facility would not begin operating until 2028, suggesting the supply shortage could persist well beyond the near term. [1][6]
