By Hyunjoo Jin, Fanny Potkin, Wen-Yee Lee, Anton Bridge and Max A. Cherney

Dec 3 (Reuters) – An acute global shortage of memory chips is forcing artificial intelligence and consumer-electronics companies to fight for dwindling supplies, as prices soar for the unglamorous but essential components that allow devices to store data.

Japanese electronics stores have begun limiting how many hard-disk drives shoppers can buy. Chinese smartphone makers are warning of price increases. Tech giants including Microsoft, Google and ByteDance are scrambling to secure supplies from memory-chip makers such as Micron, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

The squeeze spans almost every type of memory, from flash chips used in USB drives and smartphone

See Full Page