New Delhi, May 30 -- Tech Trader first began discussing the looming memory chip shortage back in December, as one more side effect of the booming market for artificial intelligence.

"Next year," we warned, "we're likely to hear a lot of management commentary on how memory shortages are increasing costs and depressing sales."

The day of reckoning is upon us. Memory prices for PCs, smartphones, and gaming consoles are spiking and manufacturers have to adjust, with consumers bearing the brunt of the inflation.

Demand for the types of memory and storage chips in AI servers is off the charts, and the three big manufacturers-Micron Technology, SK Hynix, and Samsung Electronics-don't have significant new manufacturing coming on-line until the...