The rapid expansion of AI data centers and the intensifying race for AI computing power are accelerating the transition toward transmission speeds above 1.6 Tbps, according to TrendForce’s latest research. Major players such as NVIDIA, Google, and Meta are securing a stable supply by strategically locking in production capacity from electro-absorption modulated laser (EML) and continuous-wave distributed feedback laser diode (CW-DFB LD) suppliers.
Sharp increases in conventional DRAM prices since the second half of 2025 have reflected an increasingly tight supply-demand environment. However, the annual pricing mechanism adopted by the three major suppliers for HBM has prevented contract prices from fully reflecting quarterly market price increases in a timely manner, according to TrendForce’s latest research.
TrendForce’s latest survey reveals that the memory industry experienced a significant boost in 1Q26 due to rapidly rising contract prices for conventional DRAM, which increased by approximately 93% to 98% QoQ. This surge contributed to an overall industry revenue increase of 81% QoQ, reaching $97 billion.
The shift in AI development from large-scale model training toward inference-centric Agentic AI applications is driving a structural expansion in memory demand, according to TrendForce's latest findings on the memory industry. With the resulting supply deficit unlikely to be resolved in the short term, prices are set to rise further.
According to the latest research by global market intelligence firm TrendForce, global sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs)—including battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles—reached 3.94 million units in 1Q26, marking a 2% YoY decline. NEVs accounted for 19% of global car sales during the quarter. China’s NEV market underperformed, but Western Europe showed signs of recovery, and BEV sales in Japan and South Korea also recorded significant growth.
