TrendForce reports that the three largest DRAM suppliers are increasing wafer input for advanced processes. Following a rise in memory contract prices, companies have boosted their capital investments, with capacity expansion focusing on the second half of this year. It is expected that wafer input for 1alpha nm and above processes will account for approximately 40% of total DRAM wafer input by the end of the year.
In 2023, the combined revenue of the world’s top ten IC design houses reached approximately $167.6 billion, marking a 12% annual increase. This growth was primarily driven by NVIDIA, which saw a remarkable 105% increase in revenue, significantly boosting the overall industry. While Broadcom, Will Semiconductor, and MPS experienced only marginal revenue growth, other companies faced declines due to economic downturns and inventory reductions, says TrendForce.
TrendForce’s latest forecasts reveal contract prices for DRAM in the second quarter are expected to increase by 13–18%, while NAND Flash contract prices have been adjusted to a 15–20% Only eMMC/UFS will be seeing a smaller price increase of about 10%.
Specifically, HBM’s share of total DRAM bit capacity is estimated to rise from 2% in 2023 to 5% in 2024 and surpass 10% by 2025. In terms of market value, HBM is projected to account for more than 20% of the total DRAM market value starting in 2024, potentially exceeding 30% by 2025.
North American customers are increasing their orders for storage products as energy efficiency becomes a key priority for AI inference servers. This, in turn, is driving up demand for QLC enterprise SSDs. Currently, only Solidigm and Samsung have certified QLC products, with Solidigm actively promoting its QLC products and standing to benefit the most from this surge in demand. TrendForce predicts shipments of QLC enterprise SSD bits to reach 30 exabytes in 2024—increasing fourfold in volume from 2023.