Core Insights - The storage sector is experiencing a "perfect storm," with SanDisk's stock price increasing over 100%, driven by a value reassessment triggered by advancements in AI architecture [1][11] - Storage is transitioning from a cost item to a core production element for AI, as evidenced by developments from NVIDIA and DeepSeek [1][10] Group 1: Technological Developments - NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang introduced the concept of Inference Context Memory Storage (ICMS) at CES 2026, highlighting that context is becoming a new bottleneck for AI rather than computing power [2][3] - The new DGX Vera Rubin NVL72 SuperPOD architecture includes dedicated storage racks for inference context, significantly increasing NAND requirements [2][3] - DeepSeek's Engram model allows NAND to be used as slow memory, enabling deterministic memory access and reducing latency issues compared to HBM [4][5][8] Group 2: Market Implications - The global NAND market, with an annual demand of approximately 1.1–1.2 ZB, is expected to see nearly 10% structural growth driven by AI infrastructure rather than traditional consumer electronics [3][11] - NAND's role is evolving from merely cold data storage to being integrated into a tiered memory system, acting as "slow RAM" for AI applications [8][9] - The combination of BlueField DPU and NAND offers a cost-effective solution for long-term memory needs in AI agents, decoupling storage demand from traditional computing resources [9][10] Group 3: Strategic Value of NAND - The strategic value of NAND is being re-evaluated as it becomes indispensable in AI architectures, leading to a potential shift in pricing logic [11] - Analysts suggest that the developments in NAND technology represent a path to achieving more efficient storage-computing collaboration, which may be more cost-effective than merely expanding computing power [8][9][11]