Marketplace All-in-One Bytes: Week in Review - Micron's big earnings, Oracle's data center woes and "slop" is Merriam-Webster's word of the year
Dec 19, 2025
Anita Ramaswamy, a technology columnist at The Information, discusses the booming demand for Micron's memory chips, fueled by AI advancements. She explains how this spike in demand is impacting consumer prices and highlights Oracle's precarious data center financing, comparing its strategy to that of Microsoft and Google. The conversation also touches on community concerns regarding energy consumption and local pushback against data centers. Finally, they explore Merriam-Webster's choice of 'slop' as the word of the year, reflecting on the implications of AI-generated content quality.
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AI Demands Far More Memory Than Laptops
- AI accelerators require massive high-bandwidth memory compared with consumer devices.
- Micron's HBM sales surged because GPUs like NVIDIA's GB200 need hundreds of gigabytes per chip.
Micron Pivoted From Consumer To AI Memory
- Memory makers pivoted from consumers to AI data centers and saw rapid growth this year.
- Micron even exited some consumer businesses to focus on high-margin AI memory products.
Consumers Notice Sharp Memory Price Hikes
- Online communities and consumers noticed sudden price jumps for SSDs and memory.
- Anita referenced Reddit and reporting showing a Samsung drive rising from about $7 to $20 this year.