The surge in storage chip prices is sweeping across the industry! Tongyou Technology and Puran Co., Ltd. hit the 20% daily limit, and the explosion of AI computing power is driving NAND Flash shortages until 2028.

Questioning AI · How can AI computing power trigger a super cycle in storage chips?

In early trading, the storage chip sector surged significantly, with the entire sector rising by 3.69% as of the time of writing. Leading stocks Tongyou Technology and Puran Co., Ltd. hit the daily limit with a 20.00% increase, while Xingfu Electronics, Shenke Da, Lankei Technology, Silicon Electric Co., Ltd., Jiangbolong, Hengshuo Co., Ltd., Juguang Technology, and Jingzhida rose over 10%. WoGe Optoelectronics, Hongban Technology, Bojie Co., Ltd., Yanyan New Materials, and Shenzhen Huasheng hit the daily limit with a 10% increase.

On the news front, last Friday in the U.S. stock market, Intel surged 13.96%, Micron Technology skyrocketed 15.49%, and SanDisk and Western Digital also hit record highs. Today, Asia-Pacific markets responded in kind, with South Korea’s composite index opening up over 5%, triggering a circuit breaker. Chip giants like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also reached all-time high stock prices.

The core driving force behind the rise is the strong support from industry fundamentals. On one hand, the demand for AI computing power continues to explode, driving storage chips into a “super cycle.” According to TrendForce data, the contract prices for general-purpose DRAM are expected to increase by 58% to 63% quarter-over-quarter by Q2 2026, while NAND flash contract prices could rise by as much as 70% to 75%. On the other hand, AMD’s Q1 earnings and Q2 guidance both exceeded expectations, highlighting robust demand for data center chips.

Huirong, a major storage chip manufacturer, General Manager Gou Jiazhuang stated that AI investment focus is shifting rapidly from training to inference, further boosting storage demand. With supply-side constraints, the tight supply and demand situation for DRAM and NAND Flash is unlikely to ease in the short term. NAND Flash shortages could persist until 2028, and storage prices are expected to continue rising in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, the explosion of AI computing power creates a “siphon effect” on storage chip capacity. The upgrading of new energy vehicle intelligence also leads to a surge in storage demand, jointly pushing up vehicle costs. Since May 1, several mainstream automakers have announced price increases for new energy models, with increases generally ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 yuan.

Related Industries:

Storage Chip Design and Manufacturing: As a core part of the storage industry chain, benefiting from demand explosions in AI, new energy vehicles, data centers, and other downstream sectors, combined with continuous price increases, companies with independent R&D capabilities and complete product matrices will directly enjoy the benefits of volume and price growth. Their performance growth momentum is strong, and industry valuation is expected to continue rising with the sector’s prosperity.

Semiconductor Materials: Storage chip manufacturing relies heavily on key raw materials such as special gases and polishing materials. Currently, global storage inventories are tight, and capacity expansion has driven a surge in material demand. For example, helium prices have soared 358% year-to-date, and spot prices for DDR4 have increased nearly 18 times over the past year. Material suppliers related to these areas will face opportunities for demand and price increases.

Packaging and Testing: As storage chip demand continues to grow, orders for packaging and testing are steadily increasing. Companies with advanced packaging technology and large-scale capacity will benefit from the high industry prosperity. Additionally, AI and automotive storage requirements for performance and reliability are raising standards, prompting technological upgrades in packaging and testing firms, further consolidating their competitive advantages.

Automotive Storage: The upgrading of new energy vehicles’ intelligence has led to a multiple increase in per-vehicle storage chip usage. High-level autonomous driving systems require real-time processing of massive data, demanding far greater storage bandwidth and capacity than traditional fuel vehicles. In-car entertainment systems also rely on large-capacity flash memory. Companies focusing on R&D and adaptation of automotive storage products will see broad market opportunities, with demand growth driving sustained performance improvements.

Industry Chain Companies:

Puran Co., Ltd.: The company focuses on advanced low-power NOR Flash and high-reliability EEPROM, as well as microcontroller chips and analog products. Non-volatile memory chips are widely used in mobile phones, computers, automotive electronics, IoT, and other fields. Benefiting from rising storage prices and downstream demand release, their performance has been impressive.

Jiangbolong: The company owns industry-leading storage brands FORESEE, overseas industry storage brand Zilia, and high-end international consumer storage brand Lexar. Their products are widely used in edge AI devices, AI servers, automotive electronics, IoT, and other sectors. In Q1 2026, revenue increased by 132.79% year-over-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders surged by 2644.05%, with a net profit margin of 40%. The company continues to expand its market amid high industry prosperity.

Beijing Junzheng: Its wholly owned subsidiary Beijing Xicheng has been engaged in storage for over 30 years, capable of providing high-quality, high-reliability storage products for automotive electronics, industrial, and medical fields. It also supplies chips for communications and high-end consumer electronics. In Q1 2026, revenue grew 47.12% year-over-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders increased 331.61%, driven by the resonance of automotive and AI demands, leading to rapid performance growth.

Dongxin Co., Ltd.: The company specializes in independent R&D, design, and sales of small- to medium-capacity storage chips. Since early 2026, niche storage prices have risen across the board. Due to structural supply-demand imbalances in large-capacity products and the exit of major overseas manufacturers from the consumer market, prices for small-capacity SLC NAND and DRAM have steadily increased. In Q1, revenue grew 236.95% year-over-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders increased 333.42%, with a net profit margin of 29%, significantly exceeding expectations.