While the need for faster and higher capacity memories increases with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, the giants of the industry are pushing the button for new generation standards.

Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, the three largest DRAM manufacturers in the industry, have officially started the development process of DDR6 memories, which are planned to be commercially available in 2028-2029 to meet the growing artificial intelligence demands.

A New Era in the World of Drama

Last year, JEDEC announced the LPDDR6 standard, which offers much higher performance and efficiency compared to LPDDR5. LPDDR memories have become indispensable for artificial intelligence data centers, especially with their advantages of low power consumption, high speed and huge capacity. Nowadays, we see that LPDDR5/X supported SOCAMM2 modules are gradually becoming standard in artificial intelligence servers.

Now, the three major manufacturers that dominate the market are accelerating desktop and server type DDR6 memories, which will take the capabilities of DDR5 to the next level in every field. According to a report by Korea-based The Elec, memory companies are demanding substrate manufacturers to speed up the DDR6 development process.

Industry officials note that hardware companies and substrate manufacturers generally enter the joint development phase at least two years before product launch, and the first concrete steps for DDR6 have been taken recently.

Artificial Intelligence Demand and Ongoing Supply Crises

Although it is still a few years before DDR6 will be commercially available, giant companies are in a fierce race to be the first to introduce this new standard to the market. Artificial intelligence companies cannot be limited to a single DRAM supplier in order to meet the enormous need in data centers. Despite this, manufacturers such as Samsung and Micron predict that memory supply will remain limited for the next few years due to high demand and that 2027 will be even more challenging than 2026 in terms of hardware. DDR5, which currently accounts for more than 80 percent of the server memory market, is expected to peak at 90 percent market share this year.

What Does DDR6 Technology Promise?

On the technical specifications side, DDR6 is expected to initially have data transfer speeds of 8.4 Gbps per second, and as the production process matures, this speed is expected to climb up to 17.6 Gbps. New generation memories, which will allow much higher storage capacities, will continue to maintain the advantage of low power consumption by operating below 1.0V, especially for LPDDR6 standards.

Recently, JEDEC shared the preview of the new generation LPDDR6 SOCAMM2 memory with a capacity of 512 GB with a compact and power-saving design. According to plans, DDR6 standards are aimed to become commercial first for artificial intelligence data centers between 2028 and 2029. It will be possible for standard consumers to experience this new generation technology on their computers approximately one or two years after the huge demands of data centers are met.

What do you think about the DDR6 development process initiated by Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron and this new era of artificial intelligence that increases memory demand? Don’t forget to share your opinions in the comments section below.