Google’s 6x Memory Reduction Breakthrough Is Cracking the AI Hardware Trade

GoogleGOOGL

is handing the AI hardware trade its pink slip. Its new TurboQuant compression cuts memory needs by nearly 6x without sacrificing accuracy, while also making models run up to 8x faster on existing chips. Memory prices had surged 7x in just three months on the belief that AI demand would overwhelm supply — that assumption is now starting to crack.

• The post-TurboQuant shock is hitting stocks — with MicronMU
  dropping nearly 20% from its peak while peers like Western DigitalWDC
  and SeagateSTX
  are also sliding.
• Meanwhile, competition is rising — SK Hynix, which holds about 57% of high-bandwidth memory revenue, is planning a US listing, challenging the sector’s pure-play positioning.

Memory loss: Cloudflare’s CEO called TurboQuant “Google’s DeepSeek moment,” and developers ported it to Apple Silicon within 24 hours. If even part of the efficiency gains hold, analysts see memory valuations potentially falling 40%–60%, with money rotating from Micron to cheaper players like SK Hynix. The bigger takeaway is that when software gets more efficient, the hardware scarcity story starts to break.