Tech
Sam Altman addresses RAM comments: people should ‘put as much as they want in their computers’
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Published 11/4/2026 8:46:01 AM
Sam Altman addresses RAM comments: people should ‘put as much as they want in their computers’
The OpenAI CEO rebranded to ‘Ram Altman’ on X, saying, ‘i want you to have so much ram.’
The OpenAI CEO rebranded to ‘Ram Altman’ on X, saying, ‘i want you to have so much ram.’
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spent election night defending his position on PC RAM purchases. He changed his name on X to “Ram Altman” in response to another user’s comment, saying, “i actually do want the world to have tons of memory and people to put as much as they want in their computers, and it is fucking annoying that this was taken out of context. i have been arguing for the world to ramp up memory production for a long time.”
He replied to another comment, saying, “i want you to have so much ram lets build more.”
Altman’s posts follow an interview on the Cheeky Pint podcast, where he said “it’s quite terrible to have everybody have a bunch of the world’s limited supply of DRAM sitting in their own computer and being used five percent of the time.” AI data centers have been snapping up the world’s RAM supply, driving shortages that are leading to tech price hikes and making it tough for many people to “have so much ram” like Altman says he wants. The RAM shortage might not let up anytime soon, either — Intel’s expecting it to last through at least next year, and SK Hynix predicted it could drag on until 2030.
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Intel’s CFO says it’s ‘not optimistic about next year in terms of memory.’
Intel’s CFO says it’s ‘not optimistic about next year in terms of memory.’
During Intel’s latest earnings call, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said that demand for its budget-focused Wildcat Lake chips “is outstripping supply.” According to CFO David Zinsner, the chips are now sold out. Zinsner said Intel has “seen significant growth in Wildcat Lake. It’s coming exactly at the right time because it’s cost-optimized and we’re seeing a lot of focus in that regard.”
As shortages of RAM and other components have driven up PC prices over recent months, Intel’s Wildcat Lake chips have been appearing in new lower-cost Windows laptops on par with the MacBook Neo, like the new Dell XPS 13 or the HP Omnibook 5 14. Wildcat Lake laptops like these have budget-friendly starting prices, but often with just 8GB of RAM, which Windows laptops can struggle to get by on.
Intel doesn’t expect the memory shortage to improve any time soon. Zinsner responded to a question about memory supply, saying, “Make no mistake, we are not optimistic about next year in terms of memory.” He added, “we’ll, you know, have to see in ‘28 whether things improve, but our expectation is that it does not improve in ‘27.” That’s more optimistic than SK Hynix’s prediction that the RAM shortage will drag on through 2030.
Tan also acknowledged the PC demand slowdown, saying, “The industry continues to navigate one of the most significant supply shortages in the [sic] history, driven by the unprecedented demand for super intelligence,” referring to AI. Zinsner went on to respond to a question during the earnings call, saying, “We do think the PC is going to go through a renaissance despite this.”
