Phison CEO: NAND Flash Supply Tight in 2025 Amid Growing AI Demand

Phison CEO Pan Chien-cheng has indicated that the supply of NAND Flash memory is expected to remain tight throughout 2025, according to reports from IT Home. Discussions with major flash memory manufacturers suggest a significant supply gap next year, highlighting the importance of resource acquisition for maintaining competitive advantage.

Pan emphasized that the demand for semiconductors driven by artificial intelligence (AI) is still in its early stages. While AI chip shipments continue to grow, supported by capacity expansions from foundries like TSMC, this trend will simultaneously increase the consumption of DRAM and Flash memory.

He drew parallels to the decades-long evolution of the PC industry and the over 20-year history of smartphones, both of which require substantial semiconductor capacity. In contrast, generative AI has only been developing for about four years, with its impact, particularly in cloud AI, continuing to expand, while edge AI applications have yet to be fully realized.

Pan predicts that AI's demand on semiconductor capacity could persist for two to three decades. He cautioned against expecting a rapid shift to oversupply within one or two years, even with memory manufacturers increasing production.

Furthermore, Pan viewed the recent slowdown in memory price increases as a positive development. He noted that after significant price rebounds for Flash components from their lowest points, a more moderate pricing environment is beneficial for the consumer market and supports the industry's long-term growth.