Samsung mulls raising enterprise SSD prices by up to 25%

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon and Lee Eun-joo]

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to increase corporate-use solid-state drive (SSD) prices by up to 25 percent in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter, sources said on Monday. It is also considering normalizing production as well as increasing production capacity for corporate-use SSDs.

According to multiple sources from the chip industry on Monday, Samsung Electronics is expected to raise prices of enterprise SSDs by 20 to 25 percent in the second quarter of 2024, following the worst-ever downturn seen by the NAND sector in 2023.

Samsung Electronics initially planned to raise prices by around 15 percent compared to the previous quarter but expanded the price increase due to an unexpected surge in demand.

SSDs, or high-capacity storage devices, are manufactured using NAND flash memory. Samsung Electronics holds an almost 50 percent share in the corporate-use SSD market and thus has a considerable influence over price determination.

Samsung Electronics’ decision to raise prices is attributed to the expansion of storage servers related to artificial intelligence (AI) by global big tech companies including Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc. Major server companies such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. are actively competing for SSD purchases.

“For some products, shortages are even leading to consideration of increasing production,” an industry official said.

As the end of the first quarter drew closer over the past two weeks, this demand has intensified and is likely to have a positive impact on the upcoming announcement of Samsung Electronics’ preliminary results for the first quarter of 2024 scheduled for April 5th.

Fellow Korean chipmaker SK hynix Inc. is also expected to benefit from the shortages of corporate-use SSDs.