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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Cathie Wood’s reported reason for favoring some AI-chip companies over memory-dependent rivals is that high-bandwidth memory (HBM) may be both highly cyclical and commoditized. In a Benzinga report dated August 19, 2026, the ARK Invest CEO argued that unusually sharp memory-price increases could encourage engineers to find ways to use less HBM or avoid it. That is her investment thesis, not proof that HBM demand will fall or that any particular stock will underperform.
Why Wood sees HBM price spikes as a risk
HBM is a type of memory used alongside processors in many AI systems. Wood’s concern, as Benzinga reported her comments from an appearance on Evoke’s The Insightful Investor podcast with host Alex Shahid, is not simply that memory prices are high. It is that a sharp price increase can alter the economics of a product and give chip designers a stronger reason to reduce their dependence on that component.
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Benzinga quoted Wood describing memory as “the most cyclical part of a semiconductor food chain, the most commoditized.” The report also quoted her calling extreme memory-price increases “not the normal state,” and saying that they could lead to “engineering out the need for high bandwidth memory.” Those short excerpts are attributed to Wood through Benzinga; the original podcast recording or transcript was not independently reviewed.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchIn this logic, high prices can be a warning about the durability of a supplier’s advantage, even while they may benefit sellers in the near term. If customers respond to expensive memory by changing designs, demand for a particular component could eventually be affected. That response is a possibility in Wood’s thesis, not a demonstrated outcome or a forecast of when substitution would happen.
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What the reported market figures do—and do not—show
The August 19, 2026 Benzinga article placed Wood’s comments against a tight-memory-market backdrop. It reported a J.P. Morgan forecast that DRAM prices would rise more than 400% from the start of 2024 through the end of 2026. That is a forecast cited in the article, not a confirmed measure of the price change ultimately realized. DRAM is a broad memory category; the figure should not be treated as a specific HBM price index.
The same report attributed to Counterpoint Research director MS Hwang the view that meaningful supply relief was not expected before 2028. That is an outlook, not a confirmed date when new supply will arrive or prices will ease. It also said Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron together accounted for roughly 90% of global DRAM production; that market-share estimate is attributed to Benzinga’s report, rather than independently verified here.
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These figures describe a combination of price pressure, concentrated supply and an expected lag before relief. They do not establish that high prices will persist for a particular period, that all memory categories will move together, or that a workaround will be commercially viable.
Why Wood cited Cerebras, Groq and Tesla
Benzinga reported that Wood favored Cerebras Systems and Groq as examples of companies building AI chips that, in her characterization, do not require HBM. The report did not technically compare their products, workloads or memory architectures. The examples therefore illustrate the kind of design distinction Wood is focused on; they do not establish that either company is immune to memory-market conditions or that its chips are interchangeable with HBM-based accelerators.
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Wood reportedly compared the possibility of reducing HBM reliance with Tesla’s efforts to engineer cobalt out of batteries to reduce supply-chain dependence. The analogy describes a motive for redesign—less exposure to a costly or constrained input. It does not show that HBM substitution will follow the same route, succeed to the same degree or happen on a similar timetable.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read the thesis as an investor
Wood’s reported position is a view about cyclicality and potential design responses, not a claim that AI demand is disappearing. A memory supplier can face a cyclical pricing risk while demand for AI computing remains strong; likewise, strong demand for AI hardware alone does not determine which component makers or chip designers will capture lasting profits.
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For an investor assessing the argument, keep four questions separate: how volatile memory prices may be; when and at what scale supply might respond; how much a given chip design relies on external HBM; and whether current pricing or earnings reflect a durable advantage or a temporary part of a cycle. The Benzinga report does not resolve those questions for individual companies, and the cited comments are not evidence of which stocks will outperform.
The report also mentioned Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra describing memory as “a strategic asset” in the AI era. It said Micron had 16 long-term customer agreements and roughly $100 billion in cumulative revenue through 2030. These are figures reported by Benzinga and not separately checked here; they show the contrasting case for the importance of memory to AI customers, but do not by themselves settle how profitable or durable that demand will be.
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Finally, the comments reported on August 19, 2026, should not be mistaken for a new ARK portfolio disclosure. The report mentioned historical trades, but Wood’s stated thesis does not establish ARK’s current holdings. ARK’s September 2, 2026 market-update page provides general context on its active trading approach and warns that investments involve risk, objectives may not be achieved, and past performance does not ensure future results; it does not corroborate the reported HBM comments.
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