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Major NAND suppliers’ pivot toward high‑margin, AI‑oriented memory is triggering a sharp drop in 2D/MLC NAND supply. Spot prices for 64Gb MLC NAND have surged over 300% amid widespread capacity conversions—Samsung will convert a Hwaseong 2D NAND fab to DRAM, and TrendForce predicts global MLC capacity to fall ~42% in 2026. Kioxia, SK hynix and Micron are limiting MLC shipments to existing customers, threatening industrial, networking and embedded markets that rely on MLC endurance. Samsung’s parallel push into CXL 3.1 modules and ongoing labor disputes add production and timing risks, underscoring tensions between AI memory demand and legacy NAND availability.
Tech professionals must plan for supply, cost, and lifecycle impacts as legacy MLC NAND becomes scarce while vendors prioritize AI memory. Embedded, industrial, and networking device roadmaps may need redesigns or sourcing changes due to endurance and availability risks.
Dossier last updated: 2026-05-23 14:45:42
Kioxia now plans to mass-produce its tenth-generation BiCS FLASH, BiCS10, in 2027 rather than the earlier 2026 target, according to ZDNet Korea. BiCS10 will stack 332 layers of 3D NAND cells, boost bit density by about 59% versus BiCS8, and support a 4.8 Gbps I/O rate. Kioxia previously adopted a CBA (CMOS bonded to array) architecture in BiCS8 to separate memory cells from peripheral logic; BiCS9 samples based on updated CMOS and cell tech were released last year. The shift to higher layer counts and faster interfaces aims to meet growing market demand for larger-capacity, higher-performance NAND storage, with investment details expected to clarify in H2 2026.
Chip industry reports show spot prices for 64Gb MLC NAND have surged over 300% since late 2025 as major makers shift capacity to HBM and high-layer 3D NAND. Samsung began converting its Hwaseong Line 12 2D NAND fab to 1c DRAM in March and will finish shipments next month, removing a key 2D NAND source. Kioxia, SK hynix and Micron are maintaining only existing customer supply, and TrendForce forecasts global MLC NAND capacity will fall 41.7% year-over-year in 2026. Because MLC’s endurance suits industrial, networking and embedded uses, shortages could disrupt those segments even as vendors prioritize higher‑margin AI-driven products like Samsung’s 400-layer V10 NAND.
Samsung Electronics will begin sampling Compute Express Link (CXL) 3.1 memory modules (CMM-D) to major server and data center vendors in Q3 2026, with samples sent for customer qualification. If partners complete validation, Samsung will finalize production capacity and aim to start mass production in Q4 2026. This move aligns Samsung with the next-generation CXL 3.1 standard that enables pooled, coherent memory across processors and accelerators, addressing growing server memory and disaggregation needs. Early sampling and vendor qualification are critical steps for timing product availability to meet hyperscalers’ deployment schedules and for the broader adoption of CXL-based architectures in cloud and AI workloads.
三星劳资谈判破裂，芯片供应中断风险加剧