The artificial-intelligence boom has created an acute shortage of high-performance memory, producing broad cost inflation often dubbed AI-flation. Server DRAM roughly doubled in the first quarter of 2026, with Counterpoint Research reporting an 80% to 90% quarter-over-quarter increase across DRAM, NAND and HBM; TrendForce reported another 53% to 58% increase in server DRAM contract prices in the second quarter and expects a further 13% to 18% rise in the third quarter. Amazon raised U.S. prices across its first-party Echo, Kindle, Fire TV Stick and eero hardware portfolio by as much as 60%, saying it had absorbed higher memory and storage costs for as long as possible. The Echo Dot (5th generation) rose from $49.99 to $79.99, while the Fire TV Stick 4K Max increased 41.7% to $84.99 and the 16GB Kindle rose 36.4% to $149.99. Nvidia has told major customers that AI servers using Grace Blackwell and Vera Rubin chips will cost more than 15% more in many configurations from early next year. Samsung Electronics is projected to expand DRAM capacity only about 6% this year and 1.3% next year while prioritizing advanced-process conversion and yield stability, potentially leaving supply short of second-half demand. SK Hynix is expected to expand faster, narrowing Samsung's capacity lead. The pricing power benefits memory makers but raises concerns that escalating AI infrastructure and consumer-electronics costs could eventually weaken demand and investment.