GTC 2026 | SK Group Chairman: Memory Supply Shortage to Continue Until 2030, TSMC Becomes Key Partner

As the demand for artificial intelligence rapidly expands, the global semiconductor industry is facing a new round of supply and demand imbalance pressures. Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, recently stated at the NVIDIA GTC 2026 conference that memory shortages may continue until 2030 and announced plans to implement DRAM price stabilization measures. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics is also under pressure, indicating that the AI wave is reshaping overall supply and cost structures.

SK Chairman Worried Memory Shortage Could Last Until 2030

Chey Tae-won said at this morning’s NVIDIA GTC 2026 that the core issue behind current memory shortages stems from insufficient wafer supply, and that expanding capacity takes 4 to 5 years, making it difficult for supply to quickly respond to rising demand.

He estimates that as AI computing needs continue to grow, the supply-demand imbalance will be hard to resolve in the short term. Under these structural constraints, the global memory market will still face a supply gap of over 20% before 2030.

(Memory supply delayed again? Qatar helium supply may be cut off, Samsung and SK Hynix urgently inventory check)

Chey Tae-won: DRAM Price Stabilization Plan Coming Soon

In response to tight supply and soaring prices, Chey Tae-won also said that SK Hynix is preparing a DRAM price stabilization plan, which is expected to be announced externally by CEO Kwak Noh-Jung.

He pointed out that AI applications have driven significant growth in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and that GPU computing’s reliance on HBM makes it a critical industry resource. However, he also warned that over-concentration of capacity in HBM could squeeze traditional DRAM supply, affecting existing markets such as smartphones and personal computers.

(Nvidia Vera Rubin: Changes in the Memory War Era — SK Hynix, Samsung, Micron, SanDisk)

SK Hynix Evaluates U.S. ADR Issuance, Maintains Korean Manufacturing

Regarding capacity deployment, Chey Tae-won stated that there are currently no plans to establish factories in the U.S., emphasizing Korea’s advantages in power supply, infrastructure, and engineering talent, which allow for faster response to market needs.

He also revealed that SK Hynix is evaluating issuing American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) to increase global investor participation and enhance the company’s international visibility. On industry collaboration, he noted that Nvidia is an important customer, and TSMC is an indispensable key partner, highlighting the high interdependence of the semiconductor supply chain in the AI era:

Without TSMC, it would be nearly impossible to develop solutions like Vera Rubin.

Samsung Under Pressure: Rising Memory Costs Continue to Erode Profits

On the other hand, supply chain pressures are also affecting competitors. Recently, despite strong sales of the Galaxy S26 flagship phone, Samsung Electronics’ mobile division has been forced into emergency operational mode due to significant increases in memory-related costs.

FNN News predicts that the operating profit margin of the company’s most profitable Mobile Experience (MX) division will plummet from about 11% in Q1 2025 to nearly 1% in Q2 2026, and may even record its first operating loss ever for that division.

Citrini analyst Jukan believes that with AI continuously absorbing memory capacity, brands like TCL and Xiaomi may face risks of key component shortages and difficulties in launching products smoothly in the future.

This article GTC 2026 | SK Group Chairman: Memory Supply Tightness to Continue Until 2030, TSMC as Key Partner originally appeared on Chain News ABMedia.