Micron Technology Doubles Capital Expenditure Amid Deepening AI Memory Shortage
Micron Technology is significantly increasing its capital spending in response to a growing shortage of memory driven by artificial intelligence (AI) demand. The company plans to roughly double fiscal 2026 capex from over $13 billion and expects fiscal 2027 spending to exceed $45 billion, reflecting the urgency of expanding production capacity. Micron is also enhancing long-term collaborations with customers on customized memory roadmaps as AI systems increasingly rely on high-capacity, high-bandwidth memory. Executive Vice President Sumit Sadana emphasized that meaningful new supply won't be available until 2028 due to construction and manufacturing constraints. Demand for specialized memory solutions is expected to extend beyond data centers into consumer electronics, vehicles, industrial equipment, and robotics. The company's U.S.-based investment has been raised to $250 billion as it develops global manufacturing projects. Micron aims to meet rising customer demand projections through multiyear agreements that resemble ASIC-style partnerships rather than traditional memory supply arrangements.
