June 26, 2026 /SemiMedia/ — Micron Technology said customers have committed $22 billion to secure future memory chip supply, highlighting how AI-driven shortages are reshaping the memory market’s traditional business model.

The commitments come from 16 strategic customer agreements covering data center, consumer electronics and automotive markets. Micron said the agreements include take-or-pay terms, cash deposits and minimum price protections, helping customers secure supply while improving the company’s revenue and margin visibility.

The commitments also show how critical memory supply has become for AI data center customers. Micron is one of the major producers of high-bandwidth memory used with AI chips from companies such as Nvidia. Demand for HBM, DRAM and high-capacity storage products continues to outpace supply as AI training and inference workloads expand.

Micron’s chief executive said the company expects tight supply to continue beyond 2027 because of AI-driven demand across multiple markets and structural supply constraints. He added that Micron still cannot predict when memory supply will catch up with rising demand.

Micron also said remaining performance obligations under its signed customer agreements total about $100 billion. The metric reflects future contracted revenue and shows that large customers are increasingly using longer-term agreements to lock in memory resources.

The company said some of the agreements are five-year take-or-pay contracts, an unusual structure for the memory industry. Historically, DRAM and NAND markets have been shaped by quarterly negotiations and cyclical pricing swings. AI customers are now moving earlier to secure capacity, shifting the market toward longer-term contracts and more stable supply relationships.

This could help reduce Micron’s exposure to short-term demand cycles. With cash deposits, minimum price protections and long-term purchase commitments, the company can expand capacity with clearer expectations for capital returns.

Micron also plans to increase investment to meet demand. The company expects fourth-quarter capital spending of about $10 billion, above analysts’ previous estimate of $8.89 billion. The spending will support manufacturing infrastructure for HBM, advanced DRAM and other high-value memory products.