Samsung and SK hynix lead NAND market as AI drives SSD demand

Enterprise solid-state drives (eSSD) accounted for 48% of total global NAND flash memory shipments in the second quarter of 2026, a significant increase from 26% during the same period last year. This surge is primarily driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, as the industry shifts focus from AI model training to AI inference, which requires high-capacity, high-speed storage for continuous data processing.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix maintain their leadership positions in the global NAND market. Samsung holds a 25% to 31% market share, while SK hynix follows with approximately 19% to 22%. Notably, China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC) has risen to the third position in terms of shipment volume, surpassing Japan’s Kioxia. While YMTC leads in volume growth, it ranks fifth in revenue due to a lower proportion of high-value enterprise SSD products.

Other major players in the market include Micron and Kioxia, with Kioxia seeing slower growth due to declining customer demand amid rising server prices. Experts predict that the demand for enterprise SSDs will continue to rise through the second half of 2026 as technology companies expand their AI-driven data center capabilities.