During the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst a graphics card shortage, consumers made a prudent choice by holding out for price reductions. The scarcity at that juncture persisted for merely two years. Nevertheless, the ongoing AI-fueled storage chip crisis may prove to be more protracted. Industry insiders, such as those at Micron Technology, predict that the shortage of NAND flash memory and DRAM is set to endure until at least 2028, with some even speculating that it could stretch on for an even longer period. This imbalance between supply and demand primarily arises from the colossal demand for storage chips from AI servers, coupled with manufacturers redirecting their production capabilities towards high-end offerings like high-bandwidth memory. Consequently, this has led to a constrained supply of traditional storage chips. It is foreseen that the global storage market will remain under strain for the foreseeable future, with price volatility and an unstable supply expected to become the new normal.
