Storage Chip Prices Soar by 300%! AI Computing Power Triggers a “Memory Crisis,” Marking a Historic Inflection Point for Domestic Substitution

In March 2026, the global memory chip market was hit by a “perfect storm.” As of the end of February, the price of a DDR5 32GB module kit had surged to over US$350, while in some European markets it climbed from £79 in September 2025 to more than £351 in January 2026—a rise of over 300%.

This is not a mere cyclical fluctuation; rather, it is driven by the AI computing power arms race. Structural supply-demand imbalance. International giants such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted more than 80% of their advanced production capacity to HBM and high-performance DDR5, resulting in a precipitous contraction in the supply of traditional DRAM and NAND.

The training and inference of AI models place nearly exacting demands on computing power and data throughput. A single AI server requires 8 to 10 times the DRAM capacity of a conventional server, and enterprise-grade SSD shipments have, for the first time, surpassed those of mobile phones, making enterprise storage the largest application segment for NAND flash memory.

Chinese internet giants such as Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent are grappling with the dual challenges of a severe chip shortage and soaring prices. To seize the commanding height in AI, these companies have embarked on不惜血本的投入—unrestrained, massive investments:

Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, announced that the company will invest more than RMB 380 billion over the next three years to build cloud and AI infrastructure; ByteDance’s capital expenditures in the AI sector are projected to reach RMB 160 billion by 2025.

This surge in demand has fundamentally rewritten the value dynamics of the storage industry. In a research report published in March 2026, Morgan Stanley explicitly stated that, AI semiconductors have become the dominant trend in the semiconductor industry. We are overweight in the core sectors of storage, AI/data center semiconductors, and CPO.

The supply-demand imbalance in the storage chip market is expected to persist in the second half of 2026, as production growth lags behind demand. Suppliers face the challenge of scaling up production while controlling costs and maintaining profitability.

According to data from TrendForce, DRAM contract prices are expected to rise by 55%–95% quarter-over-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, while NAND Flash contract prices are forecast to increase by 33%–60%. Meanwhile, spot prices for certain DDR4 modules have surged by more than 1,900%. Major players such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have already suspended quoting and announced price hikes of 50%–100%, driving inventory cycles down to historic lows—just 2–4 weeks for manufacturers.

This surge in prices is being passed down the supply chain, from original equipment manufacturers all the way to downstream segments. The world’s top five PC vendors, including Lenovo and Dell, have confirmed price hikes of 10% to 30%; meanwhile, smartphone makers have also issued public warnings that new models featuring large-capacity storage will see widespread price increases starting at the end of 2025.

Omdia forecasts that if storage prices remain at high levels through the second half of 2026, Global smartphone shipments may decline by 7% to 15%.

Against the backdrop of overseas suppliers being unable to meet full demand due to capacity allocation constraints, shifting to domestic supply chains has become an inevitable choice for internet giants. As a result, ChangXin Memory and Yangtze Memory Technologies have emerged as the primary beneficiaries.

Yangtze Memory Technologies deserves close attention: its Xtacking 4.0 technology has achieved mass production at 267–294 layers, with individual 1Tb TLC chips delivering up to 1TB of storage capacity. Its hybrid bonding patent has already been licensed by industry giants such as Samsung, and the company’s global market share is approaching 10%. Some forecasts predict that by 2026, Yangtze Memory will surpass others to become the world’s fourth-largest NAND flash memory vendor.

As a leader in China’s DRAM sector, ChangXin Memory has achieved mass production of 19nm-process DDR4 and LPDDR4X products and is actively advancing the R&D of even more advanced process technologies, thereby meeting the diverse needs of data centers, smartphones, PCs, and other application scenarios.

In addition to the two major original manufacturers, domestic storage module and controller vendors have also experienced explosive growth amid the AI boom. GigaDevice has secured a significant market share in edge-computing AI devices and industrial control applications thanks to its highly reliable storage solutions; while Biwin Storage and Demingli are both focusing on the enterprise market and have launched high-performance products specifically designed for AI servers and high-performance computing.

On the stage of NVIDIA GTC 2026, a hardcore revolution centered on memory and storage is unfolding. High-bandwidth memory HBM4, ultra-high-IOPS SSDs, and flash-memory expansion technologies are making their collective debut—hardware that has long played the role of “behind-the-scenes hero”—now delivering performance leaps of epic proportions and finally eliminating the memory bottleneck in AI training and inference.

Micron has boldly announced that its HBM4 36GB 12H DRAM has entered high-volume production, specifically designed for NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform. The single-stack bandwidth exceeds 2.8 TB/s—2.3 times higher than the previous-generation HBM3E—while power efficiency has improved by more than 20%.

SK Hynix is showcasing its leadership in AI memory at GTC 2026, with HBM4 samples now optimized and delivered to NVIDIA. Featuring 2,048 I/O interfaces that deliver 2.54 times the bandwidth of the previous generation and more than a 40% improvement in power efficiency, HBM4 sets a new benchmark. Concurrently unveiled is 12-layer HBM3E, which, when paired with the SOCAMM2 module, offers seamless compatibility with NVIDIA’s latest AI systems.

Samsung has, for the first time, unveiled its HBM4E physical chip and core wafer—the pinnacle of the seventh-generation HBM! With a per-pin data rate of 16 Gbps, bandwidth surges to 4.0 TB/s—approximately 21% higher than HBM4—built on 1c DRAM process technology and a 4nm substrate design. Samples are scheduled for shipment in mid-2026.

In March 2026, the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China (2026–2030) was officially issued. Cloth, the semiconductor industry as a strategic emerging pillar industry It has been ranked first among the ten new industries and emerging tracks, serving as the core lever for technological innovation and industrial upgrading during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

The Outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan represents a fundamental leap in the top-level positioning of the semiconductor industry compared with the 14th Five-Year Plan period—shifting from a defensive objective of “ensuring the security of industrial and supply chains” to a comprehensive goal of “building strategic strengths, enhancing resilience, and safeguarding security.”

Looking back at the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s semiconductor industry has achieved leapfrog development: mainland China has maintained the world’s largest investment in semiconductor equipment for six consecutive years; its share of global 12-inch wafer production capacity has surged from 5% to 25%, surpassing South Korea and Taiwan for the first time and establishing China as a global hub for semiconductor manufacturing; and the self-sufficiency rate for memory chips has risen from less than 5% in 2020 to 35% in 2026.

Governments across the country have also rolled out supportive policies. For instance, Nansha District of Guangzhou City provides subsidies of up to RMB 200 million—equivalent to 10% of the actual equipment investment—for manufacturing projects in semiconductors and integrated circuits, including fabrication, packaging and testing, equipment, and materials, provided that the total investment exceeds RMB 100 million.

The storage industry in 2026 has entered an “AI memory supercycle.” Unlike previous cyclical fluctuations, this cycle represents a structural shift driven by AI.

The original manufacturers’ profit focus is firmly anchored in servers and HBM, while the consumer market faces short-term pressure but is expected to remain stable in the long run thanks to capacity contraction. Looking ahead, the storage industry will enter a new normal characterized by steady overall growth amid structural differentiation, with AI infrastructure emerging as the decisive battleground.

Investors and industry participants should pay close attention to several key trends:

High-end storage remains in short supply. : HBM supply and demand far exceed those of traditional DRAM and NAND; its capacity expansion is constrained, technological barriers are high, and the number of wafers per finished unit is significantly higher than for conventional products. Manufacturers secure supply in advance through annual contracts, with capacity for 2026 already fully booked.

Accelerating Domestic Substitution : Major internet companies are shifting their orders to domestic firms, moving from the “consideration” stage to the substantive “negotiation” phase. This signifies that domestic storage vendors have officially advanced from being mere “alternative options” in the past to becoming “core supply candidates.”

Continuous breakthroughs in technological innovation From the extreme throughput of HBM4 to the unparalleled energy efficiency of LPDDR6, the semiconductor industry is paving the way for the widespread adoption of AI. The rise of Yangtze Memory Technologies is not merely about “domestic substitution”; in a global supply chain that is highly concentrated and amid escalating geopolitical risks, it has established a critical, independently controllable node for China’s AI infrastructure.