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Re:The RAM shortage comes for us all by hodgehog11 on Thursday December 04, 2025 @02:48PM (#46151997)
I don't see this working for Google though, since they make their own custom hardware in the form of the TPUs. Unless those designs include components that are also susceptible?
Re:The RAM shortage comes for us all by jandrese on Thursday December 04, 2025 @03:38PM (#46152714)
That was why OpenAI went after the wafers, not the finished products. By buying up the supply of the raw materials they bottleneck everybody, even unrelated fields. It's the kind of move that requires a true asshole to pull off, knowing it will give your company an advantage but screw up life for literally billions of people at the same time.
Re:The RAM shortage comes for us all by mbesto on Thursday December 04, 2025 @05:27PM (#46154030)
> By buying up the supply

We actually don't know for certain whether these agreements are binding. If OpenAI gets in a credit crunch we'll soon find out.

Re:The RAM shortage comes for us all by agoodusername63 on Thursday December 04, 2025 @05:54PM (#46154328)
Went after the right component too. RAM manufacturers love an opportunity to create as much scarcity as possible.
Re:The RAM shortage comes for us all by frankchn on Thursday December 04, 2025 @02:52PM (#46152053)
TPUs use HBM, which are impacted.
Re:The RAM shortage comes for us all by UncleOxidant on Thursday December 04, 2025 @03:15PM (#46152380)
Even their TPU based systems need RAM.
Re:The RAM shortage comes for us all by bri3d on Thursday December 04, 2025 @02:52PM (#46152070)
Still susceptible, TPUs need DRAM dies just as much as anything else that needs to process data. I think they use some form of HBM, so they basically have to compete alongside the DDR supply chain.