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The current AI surge is anticipated to boost both the memory and wafer foundry sectors to record-breaking revenues by 2026, based on TrendForce’s recent data. Limited supply and rapidly increasing prices are likely to grow the memory market's total worth to $551.6 billion. Meanwhile, the global foundry market is also expected to reach a new peak of $218.7 billion, but the memory industry's scale will have more than doubled that of wafer foundries.
According to TrendForce's latest findings, the global MLCC industry will show a more polarized landscape in 1Q26 due to ongoing political and economic turbulence. While the U.S. tariffs and escalating geopolitical risks continue to increase supply chain uncertainty, the market for high-end MLCCs is sharply rebounding, driven by the commercialization of embodied AI applications. In contrast, the mid- to low-end MLCC segments are struggling due to seasonal downturns and rising raw material costs, which dampen demand for traditional consumer electronics and increase operational challenges for manufacturers.
1Q26 conventional DRAM contract prices raised to +90–95% QoQ; NAND Flash to +55–60% QoQ. CSPs, server OEMs, and PC OEMs broadly face DRAM supply gaps; PC DRAM prices are expected to at least double QoQ in 1Q26. Strong North American CSP demand lifts enterprise SSD orders; prices projected to rise 53–58% QoQ in 1Q26.
TrendForce’s latest research indicates that AI innovation is causing a fundamental shift in the memory market. As data access volumes continue to grow, AI systems depend more on high-bandwidth, high-capacity, low-latency DRAM to handle large-scale model parameters, long-sequence inference, and multi-task parallel processing. Additionally, NAND Flash has become essential for fast data transfer, making memory a key component in AI infrastructure and a strategic focus for CSPs.
North American CSPs' continued investments in AI infrastructure are expected to increase global AI server shipments by more than 28% YoY in 2026, according to the latest market research from TrendForce. The rapid growth of AI inference services is boosting demand for general-purpose servers, supporting both replacement and expansion efforts. Consequently, TrendForce predicts that total global server shipments, including AI servers, will accelerate from 2025, with a 12.8% YoY growth in 2026.
