TECH NEWS – Storage space could cost up to 30% more because NAND manufacturers want to capitalize on the artificial intelligence trend.

Gamers may have to face another shortage. According to supply chain sources, NAND manufacturers Western Digital, SanDisk, and Micron may raise prices by up to 30%. Demand for AI and enterprise storage is growing rapidly due to the increase in data center capacity. Currently, the largest NAND suppliers are not providing quotes to customers, so a widespread price increase is expected, affecting not only enterprise storage but also other areas.

Western Digital recently made an official announcement detailing changes to its NAND pricing structure. DigiTimes reports that companies such as SanDisk are expected to raise NAND product prices by up to 10%. Micron, one of the largest suppliers, is anticipating price increases of up to 30%. However, the company has not yet officially notified its customers, meaning the supply chain is still adjusting to the situation. In the bigger picture, consumer NAND product prices could rise dramatically.

2025年9月12日

親愛的客戶：

人工智慧時代以數據為動力，而HDD硬碟則確保資料安全、可存取、經濟實惠，並為創新做好準備。… pic.twitter.com/cu42ONMsqp

— 駿HaYaO (@QQ_Timmy) September 15, 2025

For those curious about how AI consumes enterprise storage capacity: large language models (LLMs) rely on massive datasets, with HDDs often serving as cold storage for raw data. As global data center computing power expands rapidly, enterprise storage demand grows in parallel, giving NAND manufacturers the opportunity to take advantage of the trend. Since HDDs do not use NAND chips, they won’t see as steep price hikes as SSDs, but they will still feel the impact.

So, after previously hinting at a price increase, one is now inevitable—especially since last year NAND makers complained about weak demand. It might be wise to buy that SATA or NVMe SSD now to avoid paying more later.

Source: WCCFTech, DigiTimes