{"slug": "samsung-sk-hynix-gain-pricing-power-as-nvidia-ai-server-prices-rise", "title": "Samsung, SK hynix gain pricing power as Nvidia AI server prices rise", "summary": "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are gaining pricing power as server makers raise prices for Nvidia-based AI systems by more than 15 percent for shipments starting in early 2027, according to Bloomberg. The increases, driven by rising memory costs, affect systems built on Nvidia's Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell platforms, and analysts expect the Korean chipmakers to benefit from sustained demand for high-bandwidth memory and server DRAM through 2027.", "body_md": "Korean memory makers stand to benefit as higher costs reach data center buyers\n\nSamsung Electronics and SK hynix are gaining further bargaining power in the AI supply chain as rising memory costs feed into prices for Nvidia-based server systems.\n\nBloomberg reported Saturday that server manufacturers had begun notifying major data center customers, including Microsoft, Google and Oracle, that prices for Nvidia-based AI systems would rise by more than 15 percent in many cases for shipments starting in early 2027.\n\nThe increases will affect systems built on Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin and current Grace Blackwell platforms. The size of the increase varies by chip generation and memory configuration, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.\n\nMemory is a key source of the cost pressure. Nvidia's AI accelerators depend on high-bandwidth memory; AI data centers also consume large amounts of conventional server DRAM. Supply has remained tight as cloud companies expand computing capacity and secure memory through longer-term contracts.\n\nThat leaves a small group of memory suppliers in a stronger negotiating position. Counterpoint Research's latest available HBM data put SK hynix at 58 percent of global HBM revenue in the first quarter. Samsung, meanwhile, led the broader DRAM market in the second quarter with a 39 percent share, while the two Korean chipmakers together accounted for 65 percent of global revenue.\n\nThe Korean companies occupy somewhat different positions in that market. SK hynix built an early lead in HBM, the memory most closely tied to AI accelerators. Samsung has a larger presence across conventional DRAM and has been expanding its share in advanced HBM products. Counterpoint said most HBM revenue in the first quarter still came from HBM3E, with HBM4 shipments expected to become more meaningful in the second half.\n\nThe pressure is not limited to HBM. TrendForce expects server DRAM contract prices to rise another 13 to 18 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, as AI-related demand continues to absorb available capacity.\n\nHana Securities said Monday that the reported rise in Nvidia-based server prices was putting renewed focus on memory suppliers, and named Samsung and SK hynix among the expected beneficiaries. The brokerage said demand for higher-value memory could remain strong through 2027 as global technology companies continue investing in AI infrastructure.\n\nThat demand is not tied solely to Nvidia. Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta are developing more of their own AI processors to reduce reliance on Nvidia, but those systems also require high-performance memory, leaving access to HBM and server DRAM an important constraint across the broader AI hardware market.\n\nThe higher system prices are also raising the cost of the AI infrastructure that drives demand for those memory chips.\n\nThe Information reported Sunday that some server suppliers had warned customers of increases of about 17 percent for major Nvidia-based systems. At that level, it estimated, the chip-system cost of a 1-gigawatt data center could increase by at least $5 billion. The estimate refers to chip-system costs rather than the total cost of building a data center.\n\n\"Big Tech can absorb higher costs for a while, but there is a limit to how far infrastructure spending can rise without affecting returns,\" said Shin Joong-ho, head of research at LS Securities. \"If memory inflation keeps pushing up Nvidia system prices, companies may have to reassess the expected returns on new AI data center projects.\"\n\nNvidia is due to report fiscal second-quarter results Wednesday.\n\nmjh@heraldcorp.com", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/samsung-sk-hynix-gain-pricing-power-as-nvidia-ai-server-prices-rise", "canonical_source": "https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10850257", "published_at": "2026-08-24 06:37:09+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-24 06:43:51.151199+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-chips"], "entities": ["Samsung Electronics", "SK hynix", "Nvidia", "Microsoft", "Google", "Oracle", "Counterpoint Research", "TrendForce"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/samsung-sk-hynix-gain-pricing-power-as-nvidia-ai-server-prices-rise", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/samsung-sk-hynix-gain-pricing-power-as-nvidia-ai-server-prices-rise.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/samsung-sk-hynix-gain-pricing-power-as-nvidia-ai-server-prices-rise.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/samsung-sk-hynix-gain-pricing-power-as-nvidia-ai-server-prices-rise.jsonld"}}