Memory chip prices are soaring on AI server demand — great for makers like Winbond, painful for anyone buying the chips.

• High-capacity NOR Flash prices could double in the second half of the year, after already doubling in the first half.
• AI servers are the cause: each one needs three to five times more of these chips than an ordinary server.
• Supply can't catch up because AI has eaten most factory capacity, and new production lines take months to qualify.
• Winbond, the market leader, is set for the biggest jump in output this year.
• Demand is also coming from self-driving car systems, AI PCs, robots and satellites, which need radiation-hardened versions.

Outlook: The shortage in mid- and high-capacity chips looks set to last, with smaller chips seeing more modest price rises into year-end.