Monthly Memory & Flash Market Watch

Samsung’s 3nm yield reportedly stuck at 50%, far behind TSMC’s 90%

• Such low rate has made it harder for Samsung to win big tech’s trust although it’s gaining traction at mature nodes like 7nm and 8nm—with orders reportedly from Nintendo. Google’s Tensor G5 is reportedly shifting its demand to TSMC’s 3nm, and intends to lock with it for the next 3-5 years, covering Pixel models through at least the Pixel 14.

Western Digital and Ingrasys establish long-term collaboration

• The 2 firms aim to deliver a new Top-of-Rack (TOR) switch with embedded storage, which provides distributed storage at the network edge for lower latency storage access, reducing the need for separate storage networks and avoiding trips to centralized storage arrays.

Kioxia sampling enterprise CM9 series PCIe 5.0 NVMe up to 61.44TB 2.5-inch and E3.S SSD

• This series is the 1st enterprise SSD built with Kioxia’s BiCS8 3D TLC flash memory, delivering performance improvements of up to approximately 65% in random write, 55% in random read, and 95% in sequential write compared to the previous-gen. In addition, performance/watt gains realized include 55% better sequential read and 75% better sequential write efficiency.

SK hynix develops UFS 4.1 solution based on 321-high NAND

• With an increase in demand for on-device AI leading to greater importance of the balance between computation capabilities and battery efficiency of a device, the mobile market is now requiring thinness and low power from a mobile device.

• The latest product comes with a 7% improvement in power efficiency, compared with the previous-gen based on 238-high NAND and a slimmer 0.85mm thickness, down from 1mm before, to fit into a ultra-slim smartphone.

Micron’s 12hi HBM3e could top 8hi shipments by August, backed by strong CSP Buzz

• The company is betting big on 12hi HBM3E, expecting the product to surpass its current 8hi HBM3e in shipment volume as its yields are rapidly improving.

• Micron is rapidly closing the gap from SK hynix with its top-tier products—its 12hi HBM3e is already powering NVIDIA’s B300. The firm may have less overall DRAM capacity than SK hynix, but its higher share of cutting-edge 10nm-class 1b processes gives it a quality edge—especially in heat management, a key factor for HBM.

SUPPLY TREND

2024-2025 Worldwide SSD Shipment

WW SSD demand reached the highest point of total 2024 shipment amount in Q4’24, and 2025 1H shipment is expected to stay at even higher level than the previous stage

2024-2025 Worldwide DRAM Output

DRAM production for all applications started resuming in 2024, and 2025 general output status is likely to stay above 2024’s quarterly level

2024-2025 NAND Price Trend & Sufficiency Ratio

Flash Sufficiency: maintain at low level since 2024.

Price Trend: NAND flash price drops to a low level in Q4’24, yet a slight bound in 2025 is expected due to chip makers’ plan of production cut considering the general demand isn’t significantly strong, which is also affected by US uncertain tariff policy.