Altman: Scarce RAM Belongs in Data Centers, Not PCs — SkimNews
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- Sam Altman said on the Cheeky Pint podcast that it is “terrible” to keep the world’s limited DRAM in personal PCs when those chips are used only five percent of the time.
- Altman said cloud data centers should seek maximum DRAM utilization during the supply-constrained environment, countering the belief that open-source models running locally remove the need for data-center capacity.
- OpenAI’s buying spree is squeezing the world’s RAM supply, and Altman used his podcast appearance to explain why the company needs so much memory.
- Samsung and SK Hynix have long-term deals with cloud service operators and projects including OpenAI’s Stargate, reserving much of the world’s RAM output over the next few years.
- Laptops, phones and other tech are getting more expensive right now because buyers are committing billions for chips.
Why it matters: Cloud operators and OpenAI’s Stargate have reserved scarce DRAM for years, supporting the high-utilization data-center model Altman favors; consumers are already paying more for laptops, phones and other tech as billions in chip commitments feed into what they pay for hardware.
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