Huang to memory bears: Nvidia will still want more RAM in 2029

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is not buying the memory-glut story. In an interview with CNBC's Arjun Kharpal at the company's GTC Berlin conference on Thursday, he said a surplus by 2029 looks unlikely because memory has a handy trait: more is always useful. He added that HBM, a type of RAM, will stay in demand for years.

The comments land after a rough week for memory stocks. A South Korean opinion column published Oct. 15 urged the government to prepare for a slowing AI boom, citing two experts who predicted a flood of new supply would turn the memory market into a red ocean by 2029 and possibly end the supercycle, according to CNBC's translation. Huang's view is a direct counterweight to that warning.

Memory is crucial to Nvidia's chips. A glut would push prices down and pressure margins at makers such as SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron. The selloff also drew fuel from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, which CNBC reported unveiled a new design architecture that could boost efficiency and raise fears it might take share from those rivals. Elon Musk also jumped in, predicting China will produce a lot of RAM in 2028.

Huang isn't closing the door on CXMT. Asked whether Nvidia would partner with the Chinese memory maker, he said the company is open-minded and noted that businesses around the world work with Chinese firms somewhere in the supply chain. He also said China is incredible at fundamental infrastructure tech and no country collectively beats it at manufacturing, so its capabilities must be taken seriously.

Huang tied China's semiconductor progress to U.S. export controls. He said Washington's restrictions have accelerated China's push into chip manufacturing and industrial support. The U.S. still blocks exports of the most advanced chips to China, including top-end Nvidia products, and CNBC reports some Chinese firms tap compute through Southeast Asian data centers. Huang still called American tech firms mighty and ready to compete with anybody.