Core Viewpoint - Flash memory prices are experiencing a significant increase, with some products seeing price rises close to 40% due to supply constraints and surging demand driven by AI applications [1][6][7] Price Trends - 1Tb QLC has increased by 25.00% to $12.50 - 1Tb TLC has risen by 23.81% to $13.00 - 512Gb TLC has the highest increase at 38.46%, now priced at $9.00 - 256Gb TLC has increased by 14.58% to $5.50 [1][2] Supply and Demand Dynamics - Major storage companies like Samsung, SK Hynix, Kioxia, and Micron have collectively reduced NAND supply since the second half of this year, with reductions of 15% for Samsung, 20% for SK Hynix, and 12% and 18% for Kioxia and Micron respectively [6][7] - The shift towards QLC production for AI data centers has further squeezed traditional NAND capacity, exacerbating supply shortages [7] Industry Insights - The demand for NAND storage is surging due to the rapid development of AI technologies, with AI servers requiring three times the NAND of traditional servers, leading to a spike in large-capacity SSD demand [7] - Companies are engaging in "panic buying" to secure NAND allocations, resulting in many suppliers' quotas for next year being fully booked [7] - The storage industry is predicted to enter a "super cycle," with the global market potentially reaching $300 billion by 2027 [7]

Core Insights - The race to build data centers for achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is accelerating, outpacing manufacturing capacity, leading to significant shortages in DRAM and storage devices [2][3] - The delivery time for enterprise-grade hard drives has extended to two years, forcing companies to turn to QLC NAND flash SSDs to avoid backlogs [2] - The demand for QLC NAND flash is causing shortages, with North American and Chinese cloud service providers competing for supplies, potentially driving up global SSD prices [2][3] Summary by Sections - **AGI and Data Center Investment** - Companies are heavily investing in data centers to support AGI, resulting in a rapid increase in demand for memory and storage solutions [2] - **Current Market Conditions** - DRAM prices have more than doubled in recent months, and enterprise-grade hard drive delivery times have reached 24 months [2] - The shift towards QLC NAND flash SSDs is a response to the long delivery times of traditional storage solutions [2] - **Future Projections** - By early 2027, QLC NAND is expected to surpass TLC in market share, indicating a significant shift in storage technology [3] - NAND flash manufacturers are experiencing unprecedented demand, with some QLC production capacities already booked until 2026 [2][3] - **Impact on Consumers and Companies** - The current shortages are benefiting manufacturers as they sell capacity to AI customers willing to pay high prices, while ordinary consumers face electronic product shortages [3]