Core Viewpoint - The stock prices of Samsung and SK Hynix surged significantly following a preliminary supply agreement with OpenAI, indicating strong market optimism regarding the demand for memory chips driven by AI infrastructure projects [3][4][7]. Group 1: Stock Market Reaction - On October 2, Samsung's stock rose by 4.5%, while SK Hynix's stock increased by 9.7%, marking the largest intraday gains since April [4][5]. - The collaboration with OpenAI has led to a notable increase in investor confidence, reflected in the stock price movements of both companies [3][4]. Group 2: Partnership Details - Samsung and SK Hynix signed a letter of intent with OpenAI, aiming to integrate their memory chip production capabilities into the Stargate data center project, which also involves major players like NVIDIA and Oracle [7]. - The projected demand from OpenAI could reach 900,000 wafers per month, which is more than double the current global capacity for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) [7]. Group 3: Market Outlook - The Stargate project signifies a peak in AI infrastructure development, highlighting a substantial demand for high-performance memory chips [8]. - Analysts from JPMorgan predict a structural growth phase for the memory industry, driven by the "memory hunger" trend due to AI computing needs, affecting both HBM and traditional DRAM and NAND flash markets [8]. - The DRAM market is expected to enter an unprecedented four-year pricing upcycle from 2024 to 2027, with a significant increase in market size projections, estimating nearly $300 billion by 2027 [8].

Core Viewpoint - The "memory hunger" trend driven by AI computing is pushing the entire industry into a structural growth phase, leading to an unprecedented four-year pricing upcycle in the DRAM market from 2024 to 2027, with the global storage market expected to reach nearly $300 billion by 2027 [1][2]. Group 1: Market Dynamics - The core driver of the current cycle is the immense demand for high-performance memory due to AI computing, which has rapidly expanded from high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to traditional DRAM and NAND flash [2][3]. - Suppliers may struggle to meet the entire demand in the next 12 months, supporting sustained price increases [2]. - The NAND flash market is also experiencing a strong rebound, partly due to a severe shortage of hard disk drives (HDD), pushing customers towards enterprise solid-state drives (eSSD) [2][9]. Group 2: DRAM Market Outlook - The DRAM market is entering an unprecedented four-year pricing upcycle from 2024 to 2027, breaking the previous pattern of volatility [3]. - By 2027, HBM is expected to account for 43% of the total value in the DRAM market, stabilizing traditional DRAM price fluctuations and enhancing overall market profitability [3]. - Even with potential price drops for HBM3E products in 2026 due to increased supply, the next-generation HBM4 is anticipated to maintain a premium of about 35%, keeping the average selling price (ASP) stable [3]. Group 3: AI-Driven Demand - The rise of AI inference, AI services, and edge AI applications necessitates upgrades in memory configurations for general servers to achieve lower latency and better power efficiency [8]. - By 2027, AI-related applications are projected to account for 53% of the DRAM market's total addressable market (TAM) [8]. Group 4: NAND Market Recovery - The NAND flash market is experiencing a strong pricing recovery after two years of underinvestment, driven by a surge in demand for eSSD [9]. - The shortage of traditional HDDs, with delivery cycles extending up to 52 weeks, is prompting a significant shift towards eSSD in nearline storage markets [9]. - The structural importance of NAND is increasing as AI models transition from training to inference applications, raising demands for data read speeds and latency [10].