AI Boom Drives Up Memory Card Prices

Summary

The price of memory cards like microSD and CFexpress is rising due to the significant demand for high-density flash memory from AI infrastructure. Major manufacturers are shifting production capacity towards AI data centers and accelerators, which pay more for these components. This reallocation has reduced the supply available for consumer devices such as cameras and phones. Lexar representatives suggest this situation is a structural industry change, not a temporary issue, and that the trend of falling storage prices has stalled.

Key points

• AI infrastructure demands are driving up memory card prices.
• Production capacity is shifting from consumer storage to AI needs.
• Lexar views this price increase as a long-term structural change.
• The trend of decreasing flash storage costs has halted.