As we enter early 2026, the persistent issue of storage shortages continues to plague the market. Over the past month, business hotels in Pangyo, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, including the DoubleTree by Hilton and Nine Trees, have transformed into bustling hubs. Here, procurement leaders from tech behemoths have congregated, booking rooms for extended stays with a singular purpose: to secure long-term supply agreements with Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division and SK Hynix.

However, their efforts have been met with resistance. Both Samsung and SK Hynix, the titans of the storage industry, have declined to sign long-term contracts, opting instead for quarterly agreements. This strategic move is not the only surprise they have in store. The two companies have also proposed significant price increases for their DRAM products, targeting servers, PCs, and smartphones. Quotes for the first quarter are set to skyrocket by 60%-70% compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.

Market analysts are of the opinion that customers will ultimately accept this steep hike. The rationale behind this prediction lies in the manageable nature of AI infrastructure spending for these tech giants. The confidence displayed by Samsung and SK Hynix in raising prices is rooted in their expectations of a worsening shortage of server DRAM. Memory manufacturers are currently channeling their resources into producing HBM3E, a move that has resulted in a backlog in server DRAM production capacity. This, in turn, has widened the supply-demand gap, creating a perfect storm for price increases.

Simultaneously, companies such as Google and Microsoft are expanding their inference-based AI service businesses. This expansion has triggered a surge in demand for general-purpose server DRAM, further exacerbating the already dire shortage. Several investment banks have weighed in on the situation, predicting that the trend of storage price hikes may well continue throughout 2026, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the market.