Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance Seek Long-Term DRAM Supply Deals From Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, With Some Asking for Contracts Through 2035

October 27 — According to South Korean media outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, major Chinese cloud service providers (CSPs) such as Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance are negotiating long-term supply agreements (LTAs) for server memory with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Such agreements usually run 3 to 5 years, but some customers have proposed contracts through 2035, a term of 10 years.

The procurement demand covers server DDR and low-power LPDDR. LPDDR is mostly used in smartphones and can improve the energy efficiency of AI servers. The report said that with memory supply tight, these companies are prioritizing securing supply volumes even at higher prices. Previously, US tech giants had already locked in memory supply through LTAs.