Micron exited the consumer storage business, with its HBM annual revenue surging from $8 billion to $25 billion.

A 246% spike in NAND costs forced ChangXin Technology to implement a dual-source lock strategy, while ChangXin captured 35% market share in the DRAM sector.

Micron exited the consumer storage market, with its HBM annual revenue soaring from $8 billion to $25 billion! A 246% surge in NAND costs forced ChangXin Technology to dual-lock supply sources, while ChangXin captured 35% share in the DRAM market!

I. AI Computing Demand Ignited the Storage Market, Making HBM the Core Battleground

The "Genesis Project" jointly advanced by NVIDIA and the U.S. government marked a new phase of investment in AI infrastructure, with storage chips undergoing structural transformation as the cornerstone of computing power. Micron Technology reported Q1 2025 revenue of $13.6 billion (up 57% year-over-year), with adjusted earnings of $4.78 per share (exceeding expectations by 34%). Its HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) business performed particularly strongly:

HBM3E capacity was in short supply: Q3 2025 HBM revenue reached $1.98 billion, with annualized revenue nearing $8 billion, accounting for 22% of the company’s total DRAM revenue.

Technological iteration accelerated: The yield rate for 12-layer HBM3E surpassed that of 8-layer products, and HBM4 capacity for 2026 was already locked in with major customer orders.

The market scale exploded: The global HBM market was projected to grow from $4 billion in 2023 to $25 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 150%.

The DRAM demand from AI is 8 times more than a standard server. Meanwhile, HBM bandwidth exceeded that of traditional DDR5 by over 10 times, making it a core component paired with NVIDIA’s GB-series GPUs.

II. Micron’s Strategic Shift: Exiting the Consumer Market, All-In on High-End AI Segments

Facing the AI wave, Micron, the world’s third-largest DRAM manufacturer, made significant adjustments:

The Crucial brand bowed out: Consumer-grade storage operations were terminated in February 2026, shifting focus to enterprise and data center markets. This move freed up capacity for HBM and DDR5 RDIMM production, with HBM expected to account for over 30% of total capacity in 2025.

Explosive Performance growth: Q4 2025 revenue was projected at $11.3 billion (up 43% year-over-year), with a gross margin of 44.5% (up 8 percentage points year-over-year). HBM contributed nearly $2 billion in revenue.

Strengthened technological barriers: Large orders for HBM3E were secured with NVIDIA and AMD, with HBM4 samples set to debut in 2026, aligning technologically with Samsung and SK Hynix.

This transition directly impacted the consumer market: DDR4 memory module prices surged by 307% within the year (the same model on JD.com rose from 329 yuan to 999 yuan). Following Micron’s exit, Chinese manufacturers like ChangXin Memory accelerated efforts to fill the gap.

III. NAND Prices Skyrocketed by 246%, Supply Chain Crisis Spread to End Markets

The supply-demand imbalance in the storage market extended from DRAM to NAND:

Record price increases: NAND prices Grand total rose by 246% from Q1 2025 onward, with 70% of the increase occurring within 60 days. Kingston warned that SSD prices would continue to climb over the next 30 days, highlighting significant cost transmission pressures.

Inventory crisis: UBS data showed global DDR inventory was sufficient for only 9 weeks, SSD inventory held at 8 weeks, and server DRAM inventory at 11 weeks—all at historically low levels.

Structural shortages intensified: AI data center demand drove QLC eSSD penetration to 40%, but the shift of original manufacturer capacity toward HBM exacerbated supply gaps for mid- to low-end products.

Graphics card manufacturers urged users to postpone upgrades, while PC makers accelerate adopted DDR5 to mitigate DDR4 supply disruption risks. Smartphone shipments in 2026 were projected to decline by 2% due to rising storage costs.

IV. Breakthroughs in Chinese Storage: ChangXin and Yangtze Memory Built a Supply Chain Ballast

Amid strategic shrink by foreign giants, Chinese manufacturers seized a historic opportunity:

ChangXin achieved technological breakthroughs: In November 2025, it launched LPDDR5X-10667Mbps (66% faster than the previous generation) and DDR5-8000Mbps (24Gb capacity), with yield rates exceeding 95%, covering all scenarios from servers to AI PCs.

Yangtze Memory: Focused on NAND flash memory, it was the only domestic enterprise to achieve large-scale NAND production. Its technology roadmap covered TLC and QLC, with continuous breakthroughs in stacking layers. Its products were applied in consumer electronics, data centers, and other fields, playing a central role in import substitution. It was poised to benefit from the explosion in AI storage demand.

V. Risks and Opportunities in the Storage Supercycle

UBS predicted a further 30% increase in DDR contract prices and a 20% rise in NAND prices for Q1 2026, with shortages potentially lasting until 2027. Despite strong AI demand, caution was warranted:

Samsung’s HBM3E passed NVIDIA certification, while Micron’s HBM4 development progress faced uncertainty.

U.S. export controls on advanced process technologies to China could affect equipment procurement for Chinese manufacturers.

The three major original manufacturers planned capital expenditures exceeding $40 billion in 2025. If demand fell short of expectations, overcapacity could emerge after 2027.

In this storage revolution, Chinese manufacturers, leveraging technological breakthroughs and supply chain resilience, were transitioning from "substitutes" to "leaders." The rise of companies like ChangXin and Jiangbolong not only concerned industrial security but was also set to reshape the global storage market landscape.