Monthly Memory & Flash Market Watch

Samsung & Intel develop SmartPower HDR for OLED laptops

• This technological innovation delivers up to 22% power savings through dynamic voltage control, reducing energy consumption while maintaining full panel brightness, enabling longer battery life and improves efficiency in next-generation OLED devices.

Kioxia highlights versatile memory and SSD solutions for AI, mobile, automotive, and data centers

• In CES 2026, Kioxia showcased products enabling fast, large-scale data processing with reliability and scalability for data centers, storage tailored to autonomous driving and connected vehicles. While in mobile, compact and energy-efficient memory for smartphones and portable electronics were stressed on, reinforced its vision of enabling next-generation digital experiences across multiple industries through innovation in memory and storage.

SanDisk AI‑driven storage upside: stock price jumps by 1,500% in almost a year

• AI data centers, hyperscalers, and enterprise customers are the primary growth engines, with revenue from AI‑related and semi‑custom clients rising 76% year over year. Besides, the firm’s industrial and automotive storage revenue grew 63%, showing that demand strength extends beyond pure AI infrastructure.

SK hynix showcases next-gen AI memory innovation in CES 2026

• The next‑gen. products designed for data centers, AI servers, and on‑device AI include 16‑layer 48GB HBM4 for the first time, and 12‑layer 36GB HBM3E which is expected to be the main HBM volume driver in 2026.In NAND flash, the company introduced a 321‑layer 2Tb QLC NAND targeting ultra‑high‑capacity enterprise SSDs for AI data centers, emphasizing improved performance and energy efficiency.

Micron to build $100B New York DRAM megafab

• The site is projected to produce up to 40% of Micron’s total DRAM output in the U.S. by the 2040s, marking a landmark investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, strengthening domestic supply chains, and underscores Micron’s long-term strategy to expand DRAM production capacity and meet growing global demand.

SUPPLY TREND

2025 – 2026 Worldwide NAND Flash Output

Driven by AI and datacenter growth, NAND flash demand has shifted sharply toward high-capacity enterprise SSDs, prompting a steady rise in 3D NAND output and a decline in Planar NAND—signaling a structural transition in supply to meet evolving market needs.

2025-2026 Worldwide DRAM Output

DRAM production capacity is focused on server DIMM and mobile applications. Industry analysts expect overall demand for advanced-process DRAM to continue rising through 2026.

2025-2026 NAND Price Trend & Sufficiency Ratio

Flash Sufficiency: CSP-driven AI expansion caused severe NAND shortages starting from Q3’25, and this might last during the entire 2026 1H.

Price Trend: Overall NAND flash price rose sharply in Q4’25 with enterprise and cloud service provider (CSP) demand surging—driven by AI infrastructure expansion and server upgrades. The market condition is projected to continue in 2026, sustaining NAND flash prices at a high level.

2025-2026 DDR4 Price Trend & Sufficiency Ratio

DRAM Sufficiency: Supply has come under significant pressure since Q2’25, as manufacturers phase out DDR4 production and reallocate capacity toward high-demand applications from the CSPs. This shift has led to a pronounced tightening in overall DRAM availability.

Price Trend: The spot price begins to diverge upward from contract pricing starting from late 2025, reflecting the continuous shortage in more of spot and channel markets.

Monthly Memory & Flash Market Watch