DRAM now costs more per area than leading-edge compute silicon on AI demand

Analyst Kurnal Insights estimates DRAM pricing per square millimeter now exceeds TSMC's N3 and N2 wafer costs. At $1.50 per Gb, 1b DRAM works out to about $0.654/mm² versus $0.424/mm² for N2, close to the $1.55/Gb spot price of DDR5 eTT.

• 1b DRAM is valued at $0.654/mm² versus $0.424/mm² for TSMC N2
• 16Gb DDR5 eTT spot price hit $24.80 on September 21, or $1.55/Gb
• The estimate uses unofficial wafer prices and ignores packaging and yield
• DDR5 spot deals are sporadic and don't reflect contract prices at Micron, Samsung and SK hynix