April 8th, In light of the continuous advancements in AI technology, the demand for storage solutions in enterprises has surged significantly. TrendForce projects a 20% to 25% increase in contract prices for enterprise SSDs and approximately 10% to 15% for consumer-grade SSDs in the second quarter.
According to Citigroup analyst Peter Lee, SSDs are poised to potentially replace HDDs in AI applications. He pointed out that SSDs are "more suitable for AI training applications" due to their speeds being 40 times faster than HDDs.
Lee stated, "Due to the slow speed and inadequate performance of HDDs, leading US tech companies are transitioning their data centers from HDDs to enterprise SSDs."
Recent reports have indicated that major tech firms like Tesla are expanding their AI server infrastructure, while server companies like Dell and HP are actively procuring SSDs.
"Server companies are placing orders for SSDs to expand storage capacity, and recently, there has been a significant surge in related orders, with some products even experiencing shortages," remarked industry insiders.
Furthermore, there has been a doubling of NAND demand for certain server OEMs in recent times, with high-capacity SSDs witnessing instances of premium pricing and intense competition for procurement.
Initially planning for a 15% price increase in enterprise SSDs for the second quarter, storage giant Samsung has decided to revise the hike upwards to 20% to 25% due to the "unprecedented surge in demand."
