‘Chipflation’: Surging AI Demand Fueling Memory Chip Prices, Says Morgan Stanley

Consumers could start feeling the pinch in the coming months.

Semiconductor chips on a circuit board of a computer, in this illustration picture taken on Feb. 25, 2022. Florence Lo/Reuters

A new “chipflation” threat is brewing in the economy, Morgan Stanley analysts warn.

Memory chip prices have surged by up to 600 percent in the past year, driven by a global shortage of Random Access Memory, or RAM, amid intensifying artificial intelligence (AI) demand.