Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has raised concerns over the sharp increase in memory prices, saying the rise, along with higher AI-related costs, is making it increasingly difficult for businesses to operate. Vembu said Zoho had so far avoided passing the higher costs on to customers through price increases, but acknowledged that maintaining this approach was becoming challenging.

The increase in memory costs has been linked in part to growing demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centres. As AI companies expand computing capacity, demand for memory and other components used in servers has increased, putting pressure on supply and prices.

Such increases can affect a broad range of technology companies, including manufacturers of computers, smartphones and servers. The impact can also extend to software businesses that operate large-scale cloud and computing infrastructure.

He called for more efficient compilers and programming languages, including those used for artificial intelligence applications. Vembu said improving code safety and developer productivity should not result in excessive memory consumption and identified memory-efficient software development as an area he intends to research.

Major investments are also being announced in India. HCLTech has outlined plans to invest ₹3,500 crore in data-centre infrastructure, while TCS has announced plans involving investment of up to $7 billion for a large-scale data-centre unit.

For software developers, the trend could also encourage a renewed focus on efficiency. Vembu’s comments suggest that reducing memory consumption may become an increasingly important consideration alongside performance, security and ease of development. Whether these changes become widespread will depend on how long elevated memory prices persist and how the semiconductor industry responds to growing AI-related demand.