Feeling a little blue about hardware market and bored about the AI hype talk? So am I. And I don’t really buy the explanation that data centers are the only cause for high pricing of consumer components at the moment. Pretty much trying to get things done with equipment I already have – I’m just pissed that I was planning to add more memory to my laptop before the memory availability crashed and they got more pricey. I’m sure there are other people too that have hard feelings about not getting updates on budget. I feel you.
Manufacturer’s priorities
So the common explanation given seems to be that “data centers are buying all memory”. The picture is bigger than that; the manufacturers are selling the components rather to companies than consumers. There’s no manufacturer that isn’t interested about following demand for their products. They gather a ton of information for their marketing. There’s a lot of strategic decisions to make if the demand for some products has gone up.
If manufacturer has longer-term contracts with (for example AI) companies the manufacturer knows they will be selling atleast the amount mentioned on the contract. So on that note I’m interested that do the manufacturers think the higher demand for data centers is temporary. If so the avaibility of components might soothe out a little bit after the spike. But it doesn’t automatically mean that the prices get lower again.
Space for newcomers?
If the situation for hardware market lasts there could be space for newcomers on the segment. Still, starting a new production line demands some serious funding. Early state of the process isn’t going to make money if products haven’t been paid for in advance. It would be nice to see some new startup getting some wind under their wings.
There are also some bigger tech companies that haven’t touched on the consumer hardware market attempting to get in the ring. They can get resources to invest on the expansion from their other products and already existing connections.
Even though bigger companies are better equipped for consumer market resourcewise I still romanticize about new startups rising to change the game. Or maybe I just watch too much ‘underdog’ anime.
What we don’t want to address
When looking around globally it seems like national funding is also a considerable aspect on chipset design and manufacturing processes. Some US companies have been reported to be reshoring their manufacturing processes back to the states and China has also made significant financial investments for boosting their semiconductor game. Russia is attempting to focus on tech-independency too.
What about EU?
The way I see it there are a lot of capable engineers and promising juniors looking for work. If people in EU have to settle for buying technology from further away it’s no wonder that our tech space is too influenced by other nations political biases. And it’s really sad. But it has been like that ever since online communication took a leap to the broadband connection. *sigh*
I just don’t know what to make of it.
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