NAND flash (global market)

Chronicle

2024

Global Flash Memory Market Growth by 75.9% to $64.4 Billion

In 2024, costs in the global NAND flash memory market reached $64.4 billion. This is 75.9% more compared to 2023, when expenses were estimated at $36.6 billion. Such data are provided in the IDC study, the results of which TAdviser reviewed in mid-April 2025.

Analysts note that one of the main drivers of the market is artificial intelligence. Applications and services based on AI, including generative, create a significant load on storage systems (DSS). Against this background, cloud providers and hyperscalers are actively purchasing additional equipment, including storage servers based on solid state drives (SSDs ), which are based on NAND chips. In addition, with the ongoing digital transformation and migration of workloads to the cloud, data center operators are investing heavily in SSD-based All-Flash arrays, providing faster access speeds with less power consumption than traditional hard drive solutions.

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Фото: Freepik

At the same time, according to the study, the negative impact on the global flash memory industry NAND at the end of 2024 had a relatively weak demand for consumer electronics. Manufacturers of personal computers and smartphones continued efforts to eliminate stocks, which led to significant adjustments in supply chains. As a result, average prices for NAND chips began to decline, and deliveries in bit terms decreased.

As of the end of 2024, Samsung was the largest supplier of NAND flash memory with a share of 33.9%. However, shipments of South Korean products decreased due to falling sales of electronics in the consumer market. In the future, Samsung plans to focus on developing enterprise-class SSDs and adjust production plans in response to industry changes.

In second place in the ranking of leading NAND suppliers is SK Group (including SK Hynix and Solidigm) with a result of 20.5%. The company plans to dynamically adjust capacity in response to fluctuations in demand, positioning itself as a manufacturer of all types of memory for the AI ecosystem, including HBM (high bandwidth memory; used in AI accelerators), DRAM and NAND.

Closes the top three Kioxia, which as of the end of 2024 controlled 16.1% of the industry. The company is focusing on improving the speed characteristics of SSDs. At the same time, good demand in the corporate segment compensated for weak sales in the consumer sector.

The top five also includes Micron at 13.8% and Western Digital at 11.4%. Micron will cut NAND flash capital costs, slow technology platform upgrades and focus on delivering SSDs of 60 TB or more to boost profitability, analysts said. All other players in the global NAND flash memory market held a total of 4.4% by the end of 2024.

TrendForce experts add that the NAND industry faced a traditional weakening in early 2025, driven by seasonal factors. Leading SSD consumers, including server hardware manufacturers, have slowed inventory formation. As a result, the volume of orders for flash memory has decreased. In addition, there is a significant decrease in contract prices. All this negatively affects the total market volume. Analysts believe that the situation will begin to stabilize in the second half of 2025.^[1][2]

Market growth of 4% to $74.93 billion

In 2024, the global NAND flash memory market reached $74.93 billion. This is 4% more compared to 2023, when sales of products of this type were estimated at $71.79 billion. Such data are given in the Market Research Future study, the results of which were published at the end of February 2025.

Demand for the NAND chips that underlie solid-state drives (SSDs) is growing around the world due to the increasing need for high-performance drives for various industries. Such devices, in particular, are in demand in the segment of data centers (data centers ) and cloud platforms. As digital transformation continues and workloads move to the cloud, data center operators and hyperscalers are investing heavily in All-Flash storage arrays. These systems provide faster access speeds and lower power consumption than traditional hard drive solutions. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the volume of information generated is growing rapidly, which also stimulates SSD sales.

Another analyst driver is the consumer electronics segment. NAND chips are in demand in a variety of products - from smartphones, tablets and laptops to Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearable electronics and smart home technology . Flash-based drives are also widely used in the automotive sector. At the same time, high-reliability SSDs that are resistant to external influences and temperature changes are used in many critical areas, including the aerospace and defense industries.

Technological advances play an important role in the development of the market. The transition to more advanced memory architectures, the development of next-generation controllers, and the introduction of advanced interfaces enable high-capacity solid-state drives with high read/write speeds. Overall, the global NAND flash memory market is focused on sustainable growth driven by innovation and changing consumer needs.

The authors of the study identify five key industry segments: consumer electronics, data centers, automotive equipment, industrial solutions and mobile devices. In 2024, the first of these areas provided revenues of about $28 billion. Drives for data centers brought $20 billion, for automotive systems - $10 billion. The industrial sector accounted for approximately $8 billion, mobile devices - $8.93 billion. Significant players in the global market are:

• Intel;
• SanDisk;
• Western Digital;
• Samsung;
• Crucial;
• Kioxia;
• Adata Technology;
• Winbond Electronics;
• Micron Technology;
• SK Hynix;
• Transcend Information;
• Toshiba;
• Nanya Technology;
• Kingston Technology.

Geographically, in 2024, North America brought the largest revenue - $27 billion -: many large IT companies and data centers of leading cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are located here. In second place is the Asia-Pacific region with costs of about $25 billion, and Europe closes the top three with $15 billion. This is followed by South America with $4 billion, as well as the Middle East and Africa with $3.93 billion.

Market Research Future analysts believe that in the future, the CAGR in the market under consideration will be about 4.37%. As a result, by 2035, costs on a global scale could increase to $120 billion.^[3]

Notes