Samsung's NAND supply is now expected to see a significant price hike, as the Korean giant, like DRAM, plans to capitalize entirely on demand from the AI sector.
NAND Prices Are Getting Out of Control, And It Could Have Devastating Impacts on the PC Market
The PC industry is set to face another crisis from memory suppliers, and after being disrupted by AI customers' demand for DRAM, it appears NAND is next. According to a report by the Korean media outlet Sedaily, Samsung now plans to hike prices by a whopping 100% in Q2, following a similar hike in Q1. This means that the Korean giant alone has raised NAND pricing by more than 200% this year, indicating that products dependent on NAND chips will become significantly more expensive, if not unaffordable. And, if you have guessed it, these hikes are directly targeted towards the AI industry.
Memory manufacturers' negotiating power has grown to unprecedented levels, so demanders will have no choice but to accept the prices Samsung Electronics is offering. Other manufacturers, including SK Hynix and Kioxia, are also preparing additional price increases.
- Sedaily
It is reported that NAND prices alone have surged by 450% last year, driven not just by demand from the AI sector, but also by manufacturers' struggle to balance DRAM and NAND production. However, in recent times, the role of NAND chips has become much more significant in AI workloads, and, as we have highlighted previously, SSDs are now used in mainstream AI racks such as Vera Rubin to handle long-context workloads. With this, suppliers like Samsung, SanDisk, SK hynix, and Kioxia are now planning extensive price hikes, hoping they don't miss out on hyperscaler demand.
The increase in NAND pricing would have devastating effects on the consumer PC industry, as it would not only make SSDs much more expensive but also make it hard for system integrators and PC manufacturers to secure supply, ultimately putting pressure on consumer product pricing. This NAND situation will follow a similar trend to how DRAM shortages initially evolved, but the aggressiveness of price hikes is far greater, given that NAND's prospects have recently emerged.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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