Humanoid Robot DRAM Demand to Surge 20-Fold by 2030

English Industry

AI-Driven Robots Fuel Memory Demand, Offering New Growth for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix

By Ahn Byeol

Published 2026.10.11. 12:21 Updated 2026.10.11. 13:12

테슬라의 휴머노이드 로봇 '옵티머스'./테슬라 제공

Tesla's humanoid robot 'Optimus'. /Courtesy of Tesla

Demand for DRAM used in the "brains" of humanoid robots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to grow more than 20-fold by 2030, according to a new forecast. Following high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI data centers, robots could emerge as a new growth driver for memory semiconductor companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Humanoid robots must analyze real-time data from cameras, LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors, tactile sensors, and other sources. As the number of deployed robots increases and AI models become more complex, memory requirements are expanding.

Recent advancements in AI technology enable robots to process diverse inputs—such as images, video, and sound—simultaneously and translate them into actions. The growing adoption of "world models," which help robots predict environmental changes, has further increased the need for semiconductors capable of fast, high-volume data processing. Counterpoint Research also anticipates rising demand for computational semiconductors like NVIDIA's graphics processing units (GPUs). Global memory companies are eyeing the robot market. Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron CEO, stated during a recent earnings call, "Level 4 or higher autonomous vehicles typically have more than 200 GB of memory and several terabytes (TB) of storage devices installed. Humanoid robots will likely require similar levels of memory and storage."

robot DRAM humanoid Samsung Hynix

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