HBM is becoming the dominant cost in frontier AI chips

Epoch estimates high-bandwidth memory rose from 52% to 63% of AI chip component spending between Q1 2024 and Q4 2025

For frontier AI chips, memory is the largest and fastest-growing component cost. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) has grown from 52% to 63% of total AI chip component spending between Q1 2024 and Q4 2025.

Ranked #6 on backlist 2026-05-21 (21 May 2026 UTC) · by @EpochAIResearch (Epoch AI) · view on X ↗

How it ranks: Backlist reads my Twitter/X timeline, scores every tweet for substance with an LLM rubric (not engagement), and publishes the daily top picks with a one-line takeaway. Curated by Surya Dantuluri.