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(Image credit: Tom's Hardware) As an unprecedented DRAM crisis unfolds, artificial intelligence is sowing chaos on another front: storage. Data centers using nearline HDDs are switching to SSDs to avoid lead times, which has led to a supply squeeze for NAND flash memory — one that's set to only worsen as the insatiable appetite for AGI continues to grow. As reported by Digitimes , Phison CEO Khein-Seng Pua confirmed that NAND prices have more than doubled in the past six months and that he expects it to stay this way for a while. In fact, all NAND production capacity has already been sold out for all of 2026.
The same 1 TB TLC chip that cost $4.80 in July of this year now costs $10.70. That might not seem like a big jump in a vacuum, but the ripple effect carries huge consequences when scaled up. The end-consumer looking to build their next PC is who pays for this added cost . For enterprise customers, whom Pua says Phison is prioritizing, their backers can keep pouring in more and more money since the AI boom has created a sort of bulletproof safety net around investments.
Even older MLC memory has seen a doubling in prices, and since last month, this rapid inflation has only accelerated. Pua expects the NAND shortage to last for a few years, especially considering how bearish manufacturers have been when it comes to investing in new facilities. New production lines built to keep up with said demand won't be ready till at least late 2027, according to Phison. Elsewhere, during the company's recent earnings call, he confirmed that "every NAND manufacturer told us 2026 sold out. All the capacity sold out."
Bewildered enthusiasts decry memory price increases of 100% or more
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ssds/phison-ceo-confirms-nand-prices-have-more-than-doubled-and-will-continue-to-rise-all-2026-production-already-sold-out-ssds-facing-pricing-apocalypse-throughout-2027#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.