Nvidia (NVDA) Shift to Phone-Grade Memory Sparks Supply Strain and Rising Server Costs – TipRanks.com

Nvidia (NVDA) Shift to Phone-Grade Memory Sparks Supply Strain and Rising Server Costs – TipRanks.com

By Ran Melamed
Publication Date: 2025-11-19 10:14:00

In a fresh and risky move, Nvidia (NVDA) plans to use low power memory chips found in phones for its next wave of AI servers. The chips are called LPDDR and are set to replace DDR5 chips used in most servers today. The shift aims to lower power use in large AI clusters. Even so, it also brings new pressure to a memory market that is already tight.

TipRanks Black Friday Sale

In recent months, supply lines have come under strain as major chipmakers moved more of their output toward high end parts for AI gear. Firms cut production of older parts to free up space for high bandwidth memory. As a result, supply of legacy memory has grown thin. Now Nvidia adds new demand for LPDDR chips. Each AI server uses far more chips than a phone. As a result, chipmakers must weigh whether they should shift more factory space to LPDDR. This change could squeeze other parts of the market and lift cost levels across the board.

At the same time, the plan aligns with Nvidia’s pattern of steering industries toward its own tech and making them rely on it. The push has already played out in AI and quantum computing and now extends to server memory choices.

This news also arrives on an important day for Nvidia, as the company prepares to report Q3 2026 earnings after trading hours. 

Rising Prices And Who Gets Hit

Counterpoint Research expects server memory prices to rise by close to two times by late 2026. The forecast is based on the view that the supply chain is not ready to…