英伟达（Nvidia）最大的客户近日被告知，搭载其人工智慧晶片的伺服器价格将上涨超过15%，主要原因是记忆体晶片成本大幅飙升。此次涨价将影响搭载旗舰级Vera Rubin和Grace Blackwell晶片的系统，具体涨幅取决于晶片世代及记忆体配置。为微软、Google及甲骨文等大型资料中心营运商代工组装伺服器的企业，已陆续通知客户即将到来的价格调整。
这波涨价凸显了记忆体晶片制造商——三星电子、SK海力士及美光科技——在AI基础设施需求激增之际所拥有的巨大议价能力。英伟达的加速处理器是运行AI软体的核心，其效能高度仰赖搭配的动态随机存取记忆体（DRAM）容量。尽管这三家记忆体厂商持续扩大产能，仍无法追上暴涨的需求，导致零组件价格大幅攀升，赋予制造商前所未有的市场影响力。
客户对涨价的反应以及是否为竞争对手创造机会，很大程度上取决于他们能否自行取得足够的记忆体供应。亚马逊、微软、Google和Meta等主要客户虽然都在推动自研晶片计划，但在资料中心扩建方面仍高度依赖英伟达。此外，涨价可能进一步增加AI资料中心大规模建设的复杂性，加上专案延迟、劳动力短缺及资本市场趋紧等因素，许多计划已面临重重挑战。
Nvidia's largest customers have been informed that server prices incorporating its AI chips will rise by more than 15% in many cases, driven by soaring memory chip costs. The increases will take effect on systems shipped early next year and will affect configurations featuring the flagship Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell processors. Contract server builders for major data center operators such as Microsoft, Google, and Oracle have already begun notifying their clients of the upcoming price adjustments.
The price hikes underscore the significant leverage held by memory chip manufacturers—Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology—amid surging demand for AI infrastructure. Nvidia's accelerator processors rely heavily on DRAM capacity for performance, and despite ongoing production increases, the three memory makers have not kept pace with explosive demand. This supply-demand imbalance has driven component prices sharply higher and given these manufacturers unprecedented influence across the technology sector.
How Nvidia's customers respond to these increases, and whether it opens opportunities for competitors, will largely depend on their ability to independently secure sufficient memory supply. Major clients like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta are pursuing in-house chip programs but remain heavily reliant on Nvidia for data center expansion. The price increases are also expected to add further complexity to the industry's massive AI data center buildout ambitions, which are already challenged by project delays, labor shortages, tightening capital markets, and community resistance.