A 64.8 percent spike in NAND flash prices last month is sending ripples through global supply chains as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK hynix increasingly shift production focus to high-bandwidth AI memory. In January, contract prices for mainstream 128-gigabit multi-level cell NAND reached $9.46, the highest jump in over a decade, according to market research firm TrendForce. The price rally coincides with a reduction in NAND output by the market’s two largest suppliers. Omdia data shows Samsung’s NAND wafer output is expected to decline to 4.68 million units this year, from 4.9 million in 2025, while SK hynix is reportedly reducing production from 1.9 million to 1.7 million wafers. This supply discipline is seen as a calculated shift. As demand for generative AI accelerates, both companies are channeling resources into high-bandwidth memory, which processes data within AI accelerators. NAND, used for data storage in devices such as solid-state drives, has been deprioritized despite the rising prices. The resulting supply vacuum is already changing competitive dynamics. On Thursday, US-based SanDisk and Japan’s Kioxia extended their long-standing joint venture through 2034. Under the renewed agreement, SanDisk will pay $1.165 billion over four years to secure access to production at Kioxia’s Yokkaichi and Kitakami facilities, which are two of the world’s largest NAND flash fabs. The timing reflects long-term expectations for continued tight supply and price strength. Market projections support this outlook as global NAND revenue is expected to more than double this year to $147.3 billion, up from $69.7 billion in 2025, according to TrendForce. On the demand side, Nvidia’s next-generation AI accelerator, Vera Rubin, will require 1,552 terabytes of NAND-based SSD storage per unit, which is over ten times more than its predecessor. Industry analysts estimate Nvidia alone could account for up to 10 percent of global NAND demand by 2027. Even as rivals reposition, Korean influence remains deeply embedded in the market. SK hynix is both an investor in Kioxia and a technical partner with SanDisk on next-generation stacked NAND solutions known as High Bandwidth Flash, designed for enterprise AI storage environments. Samsung and SK hynix led the global NAND market in the third quarter of 2025 with shares of 32.6 percent and 19.0 percent, respectively, according to TrendForce. Kioxia and SanDisk followed with a combined 27.7 percent.   (ICE SEOUL)

Fonte notizia: The Korea Herald