Flash memory prices expected to climb further soon

• By Lisa Wang / Staff Reporter

• • Add TT as Preferred Source

  • 

  • 

  • 

Prices of high-capacity NOR flash memory chips are projected to increase 90 to 110 percent in the second half of this year amid growing demand and slower capacity expansion, after jumping 100 to 120 percent on average in the first half, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday.

“Emerging applications such as AI servers and aerospace communications are propelling demand in 2026, aside from existing applications such as advanced driver assistance, digital cockpit systems and industrial devices,” the Taipei-based research group said in a report.

Demand from AI servers is exceptionally strong as each AI server requires three to five times more NOR flash memory capacity of a general-purpose server, TrendForce said. Edge-AI devices such as computers and robots with AI features are fueling demand for high-density NOR flash memory chips, it said.

A visitor looks at semiconductor components during SEMICON Taiwan in Taipei on September 2, 2026.

Photo: AFP

“As NOR flash memory makers’ capacity expansions remain scant, demand-supply mismatch will carry into the second half of 2026,” TrendForce said. “NOR flash memory chip prices continue to hover at high levels, with high-capacity 256-megabit chips likely to double.”

While major memory makers have dramatically raised capital expenditures, it takes time to translate new capacity into available supply because of challenges in process shrinking, yield ramp-up, product validation and customer design-in, TrendForce said. The supply gap in the mid-to-high- capacity segment would remain unmet in the short term, it said.

However, prices of 128-megabit NOR flash memory and low-to-mid-capacity chips should see much milder increases of 10 to 20 percent in the fourth quarter, as capacity from Chinese suppliers comes online, it added.

TrendForce said Hsinchu-based Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電), the world’s largest NOR flash memory supplier, outgrew its rivals in capacity expansion, thanks to the production ramp-up of its 45-nanometer technology and efforts to upgrade to 25 and 20-nanometer technologies.

China’s GigaDevices Semiconductor Inc (兆易創新), the second-largest NOR flash memory maker, is optimizing its product portfolio to those with capacity higher than 32 megabit, TrendForce said. The company would not see a capacity pickup until its production outsourcing efforts bear fruit in the second half of this year, it said.

Macronix International Co (旺宏), also based in Hsinchu, would see very limited capacity growth in NOR flash memory as it is strategically pivoting its 12-inch capacity to favor embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC) products and NAND flash, a segment that is experiencing far more severe supply constraints, the researcher said.