Earlier this week, Zoho chief scientist and prominent technologist Sridhar Vembu highlighted a problem that many businesses are beginning to experience but have yet to openly discuss: the sharp increase in computer memory prices over the past year is putting serious pressure on companies. The impact extends far beyond smartphone and laptop manufacturers that directly use RAM in their products. In a world where almost every business depends on computers and digital infrastructure, rising memory costs are increasingly affecting companies across industries.
With virtually everything now operating digitally, soaring RAM prices are starting to have widespread consequences. Vembu recently cited a report showing that RAM prices had climbed by 500 per cent in just 12 months. “Memory prices, along with AI token prices have made business very difficult. We have held back from raising prices but it is becoming hard,” he wrote.
Vembu is hardly the first technology leader to raise concerns about the situation. Several major tech executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, have spoken about the pressure created by rising RAM costs this year. The situation increasingly resembles the oil shocks of previous decades, when supply-demand imbalances in the global oil market pushed inflation higher and raised costs across economies.
In India, where more than a billion people generate enormous amounts of digital information, there has long been a popular saying that “data is the new oil”. The phrase reflects the belief that the data produced by people and businesses has enormous economic value, although that value has not always been easy to realise.
In 2026, however, a different comparison may be more appropriate: RAM could be the new oil.
Oil has powered the physical economy for more than a century, providing the energy needed to move industries, vehicles and infrastructure. But the modern world exists in both physical and digital forms. In the digital economy, information and computing processes depend heavily on the rapid movement of bits and bytes, with RAM playing a crucial role.
Until around 2022, memory was relatively abundant and did not occupy the same level of importance in technology discussions that it does today. The arrival and rapid expansion of AI changed that equation. Artificial intelligence requires enormous amounts of computing power as well as huge quantities of extremely fast memory to operate efficiently. Systems such as ChatGPT, Claude, Kimi and Gemini consume vast amounts of RAM, making memory a much more valuable and strategically important resource.
Just as disruptions in oil supplies can increase inflation across an economy, shortages and higher prices for RAM are creating similar pressures in the digital economy. Vembu’s comments therefore point to a challenge that extends well beyond technology companies and directly affects the cost of doing business.
Modern businesses rely on smartphones, servers, computers, cloud infrastructure and AI services. If the underlying IT infrastructure becomes significantly more expensive because memory prices have surged, companies inevitably face higher operating costs.
Consider a dentist, for example. Alongside medical equipment, a dental clinic may rely on computers such as MacBooks to store, process and analyse patient information. A MacBook Pro that previously cost around Rs 1,69,900 can now cost Rs 2,39,900, representing a Rs 70,000 increase. Eventually, such additional expenses may have to be reflected in the prices customers pay for services.
That is only one illustration of the broader problem. For companies such as Zoho that provide digital infrastructure and software services to other businesses, the situation is even more challenging. The increase is not limited to RAM. Components required to build and operate data centres, including storage, processors and copper cables, have also become more expensive.
Businesses ultimately have to absorb these higher costs somewhere. Companies can attempt to reduce expenses further and operate with lower profit margins, but that strategy has limits. The bigger question is how long businesses can continue absorbing the additional costs.
Memory manufacturers such as SK Hynix and Micron have indicated that supply constraints could persist until 2030. Chinese memory manufacturers are also attempting to increase production, but relying on Chinese RAM presents its own challenges. China itself has substantial demand for the memory it produces, while the US has also discouraged global companies from relying on Chinese technology in sensitive areas, creating another layer of complexity.
The parallels with the global oil market are therefore becoming increasingly striking. In 2026, RAM is emerging as a critical resource for the digital economy, much like oil has been for the physical economy. For India, addressing this challenge could require a strategic approach similar to the one it has used for decades to manage energy security — ensuring that Indian businesses have reliable access to RAM and other essential computing components in the years ahead.
