File photo/Zhang Jian (NBD)

The global semiconductor market has entered an unprecedented "super bull market," with memory and storage prices surging to historic highs since the second half of 2025. Driven by an insatiable demand for AI infrastructure, the cost of DRAM and NAND flash has more than doubled, with some high-end segments outperforming traditional safe-haven assets like gold.

In major electronics hubs like Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei, price lists are now valid for only 24 hours. "Nobody knows what tomorrow’s price will be," noted one local PC integrator.

Retail data highlights the severity of the spike:

DDR5 Memory: Prices have surged over 300% since September 2025.

DDR4 Memory: Up by more than 150%.

Enterprise Gear: A single SK Hynix 256GB DDR5 server module recently jumped from 38,999 yuan to 47,999 yuan in just ten days—a price hike equivalent to a flagship smartphone.

Industry analysts identify the explosion of AI computing as the primary cause. AI servers require 8 to 10 times more memory than traditional servers. Currently, AI infrastructure consumes roughly 53% of global monthly memory capacity, severely cannibalizing the production lines originally intended for consumer-grade electronics.

The shift was further accelerated following CES 2026, where NVIDIA’s new platform introduced architectural changes that offload context data (KV Cache) from GPU VRAM to local SSDs. Reports suggest that for every GPU, an additional 16TB of SSD storage is now required, shifting the AI bottleneck from "computing power" to "storage capacity."

The price pressure has rapidly trickled down to end-users. According to reports, Major PC manufacturers including Lenovo, Dell, and HP have adjusted retail prices upward by 500~1,500 yuan.

In the smartphone sector, brands are adopting "disguised price hikes"—maintaining stable price points but reducing hardware specifications (e.g., downgrading from 16GB to 12GB of RAM). Consumers are also seeing a significant reduction in seasonal discounts compared to previous years.

Wall Street remains bullish on the sector's giants. Major investment banks have projected that Server DRAM ASP (Average Selling Price) could rise by up to 144% year-over-year.

Liu Shuangfeng, Chief Electronics Analyst at China Securities, suggests that the supply-demand imbalance is unlikely to resolve soon. "The core drivers—demand mismatch and technical migration—suggest this cycle will persist through late 2026 or even 2027," Liu stated.