NAND flash prices have surprisingly doubled over the past six months, confirms Phison CEO Khein-Seng Pua. As one of the few executives at the top of the NAND flash supply chain, Pua has insights into the supply and demand dynamics for NAND products. The demand for AI infrastructure has rapidly depleted inventory across the supply chain, and NAND flash is no exception. The swift expansion of AI infrastructure has led to NAND flash shortages, which could continue for years. Pua noted that the price of a 1 Terabit TLC NAND jumped from $4.80 in July 2025 to $10.70 in November 2025, marking an increase of over 100% in less than six months. Other types of NAND flash, such as MLC and QLC, have also seen spot prices more than double.

Recently, CEO Pua mentioned that the NAND flash shortage might persist for an entire decade . In previous cycles, heavy investment often resulted in price collapses, prompting many flash manufacturers to scale back and slow down expansion. Beginning around 2023, a substantial portion of capital was shifted towards high-bandwidth memory used for model training, due to its more attractive profit margins. As a result, NAND received less attention just as demand started to increase again. To manage demand, new NAND flash manufacturing sites are being built. However, Phison CEO claims that new production lines will not go online until 2027, making his older prediction possibly true.