A global shortage of advanced memory chips and rising prices are intensifying competition among major technology companies, prompting senior procurement executives from Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Meta to travel to South Korea to secure supply from Korea-based memory leaders Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, Korean media reported on December 25.

According to industry sources cited by the Seoul Economic Daily, procurement executives from Microsoft, Google, and Meta have recently been staying in South Korea to negotiate contracts for LPDDR and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which are critical for AI data centers. Demand for HBM has surged as AI training and inference workloads expand rapidly.

The pressure is particularly acute for Google, which is accelerating the rollout of its in-house tensor processing units (TPUs) to external customers. Morgan Stanley estimates Google's TPU shipments could reach five million units by 2027, a 67 percent increase from earlier forecasts. Each seventh-generation TPU reportedly integrates eight stacks of HBM3E, significantly increasing memory requirements.

However, only three suppliers—Korea-based SK hynix and Samsung Electronics, and U.S.-based Micron Technology—currently produce advanced LPDDR and HBM at scale, and industry sources say most of their HBM capacity for 2026 has already been sold out. Samsung Electronics is estimated to supply about 60 percent of Google's HBM needs, but negotiations with SK hynix and Micron for additional supply reportedly ended without agreement.

The supply crunch has led to internal fallout. Google is said to have dismissed procurement executives blamed for failing to secure long-term supply agreements in advance, leaving the company exposed to shortages and price increases.

Microsoft has also faced tense negotiations. Earlier this month, procurement executives visited Korea-based SK hynix to discuss long-term supply contracts and pricing. Industry sources said SK hynix indicated it could not meet Microsoft's requested terms, and one Microsoft executive reportedly left the meeting in frustration.

The shortage is also expected to affect Apple. Industry sources noted that Apple's long-term memory supply agreements with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are set to expire in January 2026, after which suppliers plan to raise prices.

In response, U.S. tech companies are shifting procurement strategies by hiring memory and supply chain specialists based in Asia, closer to key suppliers. Google and Meta have recently posted roles focused on global memory sourcing and technology roadmap coordination.

An industry insider said large tech firms are effectively placing open-ended orders, prioritizing volume over price. However, with advanced HBM production lines already running at full capacity, the memory supply bottleneck is likely to persist.