TrendForce’s latest NAND Flash industry research reveals that AI server demand remained steady in the second quarter of 2026—particularly for enterprise SSDs—resulting in a supply shortage across the NAND Flash market. This allowed suppliers to raise ASPs significantly through contract negotiations. As a result, the combined revenue of the top five publicly listed NAND Flash brands rose 77% QoQ to US$68.87 billion.
Liquid cooling penetration among AI chips is projected to rise to 53% in 2026 and approach 60% in 2027. High-end chips from NVIDIA, AMD, and Google are driving the adoption of liquid cooling. NVIDIA’s rack-scale solution shipments are expected to double in 2026, while more than 80% of Google’s AI servers already use liquid cooling.
According to recent media reports, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is drafting a proposal that would expand its Covered List to restrict imports of new-model optical transceivers manufactured in China. TrendForce notes that since the proposal has not yet been officially released, several key issues remain unclear, including the definition of “new models,” the criteria for determining “Chinese manufacturers” (e.g., company nationality, inclusion on the Covered List, or manufacturing location), and whether any transition period will be provided. Therefore, it is believed to be too early to interpret the proposal as a comprehensive ban on Chinese optical transceivers.
According to TrendForce's latest memory industry research, DRAM supply will remain tight through 2027, and uncertainty persists over memory suppliers' HBM4e validation timelines. Together, these constraints are prompting AI chip vendors to scale back the HBM configurations of their next-generation products.
Surging investment in AI infrastructure is expected to drive the combined CapEx of the world’s nine largest CSPs up by approximately 90% YoY in 2026, according to TrendForce’s latest AI server research.
