Why Is AI Rewriting the Global Chip Supply Chain Faster Than the Industry Can Adapt?

Q1. What is causing the sudden memory shortage?
AI models require high bandwidth memory, and manufacturers have shifted production from standard DRAM to HBM. DRAM inventories have fallen from 13 to 17 weeks to as low as two to four weeks, and prices for some memory types have more than doubled since February.

Q2. How is this reshaping global competition?
New AI systems for autonomous driving and enterprise model customization are accelerating demand for advanced chips. Taiwan’s supply chain stands at the center of this shift as builders of the systems and components powering next-generation AI.

Q3. Why is Taiwan tightening technology protection?
Authorities have charged a major equipment vendor’s Taiwan unit under the National Security Act for failing to prevent attempted leaks of advanced process information. The case highlights how semiconductor IP protection is now treated as a national security responsibility.

Listen to Inside Taiwan for the full analysis.