Recently, there has been an interesting phenomenon in the storage chip market—enterprise-level storage chip prices are experiencing a rollercoaster. Some leading chip manufacturers have begun adopting more aggressive pricing strategies, requiring downstream customers to sign long-term agreements to lock in supply, typically for 1 to 3 years. Around March, the price of 3D NAND chips used in enterprise SSDs increased by over 100% month-on-month, which is indeed a significant rise.
The fundamental reason behind this is quite clear: major producers of storage chips have significantly tilted their limited capacity toward higher-margin HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) products to meet the booming demand for AI chips. As a result, standard NAND flash memory has experienced structural shortages, and the tightening supply has directly driven up prices. This reversal in supply and demand dynamics, from one perspective, reflects that in the current tech industry chain, those who control high-end application scenarios are able to secure more allocation of production capacity.
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TokenTherapist
· 3h ago
Once again, it's the story of AI chip vampires. When HBM is well-fed, ordinary chips will be starving.
Standard NAND capacity is cut in half and prices are still expected to rise by 100%? That logic is incredible.
Damn, this pricing strategy is just outright robbery. Lock-in long-term agreements for one to three years... whose money is this deep?
Wait, does this mean that the AI boom is cooling down and chip manufacturers are starting to raise prices desperately? Are they afraid there will be no business later?
This is the issue of industry chain dominance. Controlling high-end technology means controlling everything, while other manufacturers are just passively taking the hits.
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SnapshotDayLaborer
· 01-12 17:48
Haha, this is the price of the AI boom. Ordinary chips are being ruthlessly abandoned.
Wait, if this continues, server costs will double. Will small and medium-sized enterprises still play?
Mastering high-end scenarios means controlling pricing power. The game of capital is still the same old trick.
A three-year long-term agreement? That's basically forcing people to sign a life-and-death contract.
A 100% increase, really brutal. Those without inventory right now should be panicking.
Resource tilt towards HBM in this move. Standard memory has completely become a second-class citizen.
With only this much capacity, who told you not to make AI chips? Blame who?
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OnchainArchaeologist
· 01-12 02:56
The chip manufacturer's move is truly brilliant, directly treating ordinary storage as a second-class citizen and focusing all efforts on AI... Basically, it's a choke point.
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A 100% increase? They really don't see downstream as people. No wonder they can't sign long-term agreements.
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So in the end, it's still about capacity. Whoever benefits from AI will live comfortably... This game rule is a bit heartbreaking.
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I've seen the HBM boom coming for a while, but I didn't expect NAND to be so exploited. Is the market really that realistic?
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Long-term agreements to lock in supply? Sounds calm, but in reality, it's probably just fear of prices rising further.
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If you ask me, this is the Matthew effect in the industry chain. If you miss the AI trend, you'll be harvested.
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Wait, does this mean storage chips are really in short supply? Or is it just manufacturers cutting the leeks?
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It's obvious now, chip companies pour capacity where they make money, and standard products are directly neglected... No wonder prices are skyrocketing.
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MEVSandwich
· 01-12 02:56
AI shifts towards making money, traditional supply chains are being exploited, this is the current game rule
Prices doubling? It was obvious long ago, everyone is competing in AI now, who cares about SSDs
Long-term agreements lock in supply, in simple terms, it's to prevent shortages, a brilliant tactic
HBM is full while NAND is left out in the cold, the power to allocate capacity equals influence
This move by chip manufacturers is really ruthless, they’ve made the pricing power clear
But to be fair, since we all need to use AI, the era of competition will inevitably push capacity towards high-end
SSD prices are rising so sharply, my NAS is about to cry...
This is the cost of industry upgrading, the old standard products are being crushed by new tracks
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defi_detective
· 01-12 02:55
Uh, AI chips are bleeding us dry, and we're the ones paying the price for the rising storage chip prices.
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Same old story, capacity has been taken over by HBM, NAND deserves to be cut.
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Long-term agreements? Isn't that just de facto price locking? Chip manufacturers have figured it out.
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A 100% increase? Come on, is this even humanly possible?
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Honestly, whoever makes AI chips is the boss, everyone else just has to wait in line.
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The storage sector has been squeezed out by the AI boom, it's incredible.
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The contempt within the supply chain is already so obvious, it's quite interesting.
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Long-term price lock agreements... this is monopoly, there's nothing we can do.
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TokenomicsTherapist
· 01-12 02:51
Haha, with AI doing this, ordinary storage is directly pushed into the cold storage
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A typical pie chart game, HBM eats the meat while NAND drinks the soup
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Wait, isn't this just the concentration of capacity resources on top applications? Nothing different from before
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100% increase? Downstream customers will be crying their eyes out. Long-term agreements are really clever
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It feels like the storage chip market is being turned upside down by this AI catfish
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Basically, it's still a shortage. Everyone wants to clamp down on others' necks
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If enterprise SSDs do this, can data center costs be reduced?
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Interesting, top manufacturers have directly rewritten the entire supply chain game rules
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Long-term agreements? Just trying to lock in your options
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What will these storage manufacturers do if the AI bubble bursts?
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DegenWhisperer
· 01-12 02:37
This is the reality. When HBM is eating the meat, we can only drink the soup.
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100% increase? Damn, we're about to get cut again.
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A typical case of bad money driving out good money. With the AI concept coming, everything has to give way.
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So, long-term agreements are basically about selling out everything to ensure supply.
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Haha, the chip manufacturers' move this time is truly brilliant—just playing financial games.
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It seems I should buy the dip in these neglected storage chip company stocks.
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Wait, does this mean standard NAND will suffer losses for how long? No chance to turn around within a year or two.
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It's another aftereffect of AI hype; the suffering is still for small and medium-sized enterprises.
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Short-term bearish on NAND, but long-term betting on the AI bubble bursting. When that happens, we'll see if there's overcapacity.
Recently, there has been an interesting phenomenon in the storage chip market—enterprise-level storage chip prices are experiencing a rollercoaster. Some leading chip manufacturers have begun adopting more aggressive pricing strategies, requiring downstream customers to sign long-term agreements to lock in supply, typically for 1 to 3 years. Around March, the price of 3D NAND chips used in enterprise SSDs increased by over 100% month-on-month, which is indeed a significant rise.
The fundamental reason behind this is quite clear: major producers of storage chips have significantly tilted their limited capacity toward higher-margin HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) products to meet the booming demand for AI chips. As a result, standard NAND flash memory has experienced structural shortages, and the tightening supply has directly driven up prices. This reversal in supply and demand dynamics, from one perspective, reflects that in the current tech industry chain, those who control high-end application scenarios are able to secure more allocation of production capacity.