The SSD market is in a rather extreme supply crunch that is sending memory chip prices sharply upward. According to recent reports from Phison CEO Khein-Seng Pua, NAND flash memory prices have more than doubled in just six months, with manufacturers already selling out their entire 2026 production capacity.
A single 1Tb TLC NAND chip – the type used in all forms of high-end SSDs – was $4.80 in July 2025 but is $10.70 as of November. That’s a 123% increase in less than half a year. Individual chip prices will directly translate directly to higher costs for every SSD you’ll buy, whether you’re building a gaming PC or upgrading your data center.
To make matters worse, Pua tells DigiTimes that every major NAND manufacturer has sold out production capacity through the end of 2026. As a result, the situation won’t improve until late 2027 at the earliest, when new production lines finally come online. This is part of a bigger picture that also affects DRAM prices, with potential implication for graphics cards as well.
The reason: AI’s insatiable appetite
What’s driving this unprecedented shortage? The culprit won’t surprise anyone who’s been reading tech news lately. AI infrastructure is consuming storage capacity and other components at a rate that manufacturers can’t match.
Data centers are also shifting away from traditional hard drives to SSDs, creating a supply squeeze that affects everyone. This shift makes sense from a technical standpoint, as SSDs deliver hundreds or even thousands of times better IOPS performance compared to HDDs, as well as far better power efficiency.
However, it’s all happening faster than the industry anticipated. Hyperscalers and cloud providers are now snapping up every available SSD, particularly high-capacity models from the affordable QLC segment that offer adequate endurance for cold storage.
Phison isn’t hiding its strategy in this environment. The company is deliberately cutting back retail shipments to prioritize enterprise customers. The reason is better margins. Enterprise SSD business now accounts for roughly 20-30% of Phison’s revenue mix, and that percentage continues to grow.
For individual consumers like PC builders, this means you’re competing for an increasingly limited pool of drives. The days of easily finding bargain SSDs during seasonal sales may be over for the time being.
Building new NAND production capacity isn’t quick or cheap either. A memory fab costs tens of billions of dollars and requires several years before reaching volume production. The only short-term possibility of prices coming back down would be that the AI bubble pops sooner rather than later.
What this means for your next build
If you’re planning a PC build or upgrade in the near future, the writing is on the wall. Much like with DRAM, SSD prices will continue climbing through 2026 and likely into 2027. SanDisk raised NAND prices by 50% and other suppliers are following similar trajectories.
If you’re planning a storage upgrade in particular, it’s probably a good idea to do it now. For those who can wait, keeping an eye on inventory levels at major retailers might help you time your next purchase. However, don’t expect deep discounts or promotional pricing seen in the 2023-2024 period when SSDs hit historic lows.