For decades, consumers could expect their next computer to deliver more power for their money. The AI boom is challenging that expectation and exposing the physical supply chains behind our increasingly digital lives.
Since the 1970s, advances in semiconductor technology have made computing more powerful and affordable. Moore’s Law, the observation that transistor counts on a chip roughly double every two years with minimal increase in cost, helped describe the trend behind the declining cost of computing power.
Today, those gains are colliding with supply constraints. In its recent article, ‘RAMageddon’ hits consumer electronics as AI drains chip supply, the Financial Times describes mounting pressure on device prices. In June 2026, Apple increased the prices of some laptops and tablets by up to US$300 amid rising memory-chip costs.
A major contributor to these price pressures is the cost and availability of dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM: the physical working memory that temporarily holds the information a processor needs. Found in smartphones, laptops and the servers powering the cloud, DRAM relies on specialized manufacturing processes in which helium serves as the industry-standard tracer gas for equipment leak detection and supports wafer-temperature control.
AI systems require vast amounts of fast memory. Chipmakers are therefore prioritizing higher-value AI products, including high-bandwidth memory, a specialized form of DRAM. This leaves less production capacity for the memory used in everyday consumer electronics, contributing to higher hardware costs.
J.P. Morgan Global Research recently estimated that DRAM prices will have risen by more than 400% between the beginning of 2024 and the end of 2026. Data centers are forecast to consume around 70% of global memory chip output in 2026, up sharply from historical norms, illustrating the scale of reallocation away from consumer devices. This does not imply equivalent increases in retail device prices, but it illustrates the scale of change under way within the physical infrastructure behind the digital economy.
Meeting rising demand requires additional chipmaking capacity and reliable access to the energy, raw materials and specialist gases, including helium, needed to sustain it. As these requirements grow, demand for some of those manufacturing inputs could rise alongside them.
The broader commodity backdrop
Pressure on the electronics industry is emerging alongside wider strength in commodity markets. The Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM), which tracks futures across energy, metals and agriculture, provides a broad measure of this trend. Earlier this month, Saxo reported that BCOM’s Total Return version was approaching a record weekly closing high. That advance has lifted the index’s year-to-date gain above 34%, underscoring the breadth of the current commodity rally. Put simply, the overall return generated by this broad basket of globally traded commodities was nearing its highest weekly closing level on record, reflecting supply constraints in energy and some industrial metals.
While BCOM does not directly measure manufacturing costs, its near-record strength suggests that some manufacturers may also be facing additional pressure from rising energy and raw-material costs.
This is relevant because semiconductor manufacturing depends on a wide range of physical inputs, including metals, chemicals, and specialist gases. Helium is one such input, supporting wafer-temperature control and equipment leak detection during semiconductor fabrication. Its availability is therefore an operational consideration for chipmakers. In March 2026, Fitch warned that prolonged helium shortages could lead to higher-cost sourcing, increased working-capital requirements and production prioritization.
The DRAM shortage highlights how the rapid growth of AI is placing pressure on chipmaking capacity and the energy, raw materials and specialist gases, including helium, needed to expand it. As demand for computing power accelerates, securing these physical inputs will become increasingly important to the cost and availability of everyday technology and the race to strengthen these supply chains is already under way.
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Disclaimer
This article contains information based on current market conditions and publicly available data. It does not constitute financial advice, and investors should conduct their own due diligence before making any investment decisions.
Marc Farrington
PR & Partnerships
marc@pulsarhelium.com
#PLSRINSIGHTS
