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Samsung and SK Hynix to Accelerate Conversion Investment in Cutting-edge NAND in Q2
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are set to begin large-scale conversion investments in cutting-edge NAND flash. While these plans were previously delayed in favor of DRAM, concrete investment schedules are now being finalized. This strategy aims to address the surging demand in the NAND market, driven primarily by the AI industry.
According to industry sources on the 2nd, both Samsung and SK Hynix plan to proceed with conversion investments for cutting-edge NAND during the second quarter of this year.
Samsung Electronics began mass production of its 280-layer V9 (9th generation) NAND in September 2024. However, current production capacity remains low, estimated at around 15,000 wafers per month (wpm), as initial production lines at the Pyeongtaek campus were limited due to insufficient market demand at the time.
Starting in Q2, Samsung will invest in expanding V9 NAND capacity, focusing on the X2 line in Xi’an, China. This line currently produces older 6th and 7th-generation NAND. The nearby X1 line has mostly completed its transition to 8th-generation NAND.
The scale of the discussed conversion investment is approximately 40,000 to 50,000 wpm. Given the timing of equipment investment, V9 NAND is expected to enter the "ramp-up" (mass production expansion) phase next year.
A semiconductor industry official stated, "Samsung initially planned the V9 transition at the Xi’an X2 line for Q1, but the schedule was pushed back to Q2. With conversion investments also being prepared at Pyeongtaek Campus 1 (P1), the proportion of V9 production is expected to increase significantly next year."
SK Hynix is also planning a transition to 321-layer 9th-generation NAND in Q2. The primary goal is to secure a V9 production capacity of approximately 30,000 wpm at the M15 fab in Cheongju. Considering current capacity is around 20,000 wpm, this represents a substantial investment.
Industry experts explained, "Both Samsung and SK Hynix are planning conversion investments to meet the growing demand for cutting-edge NAND. While capital expenditure (CAPEX) strategies have focused on DRAM, NAND is also rapidly experiencing supply shortages."
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Samsung and SK Hynix to Accelerate Conversion Investment in Cutting-edge NAND in Q2
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are set to begin large-scale conversion investments in cutting-edge NAND flash. While these plans were previously delayed in favor of DRAM, concrete investment schedules are now being finalized. This strategy aims to address the surging demand in the NAND market, driven primarily by the AI industry.
According to industry sources on the 2nd, both Samsung and SK Hynix plan to proceed with conversion investments for cutting-edge NAND during the second quarter of this year.
Samsung Electronics began mass production of its 280-layer V9 (9th generation) NAND in September 2024. However, current production capacity remains low, estimated at around 15,000 wafers per month (wpm), as initial production lines at the Pyeongtaek campus were limited due to insufficient market demand at the time.
Starting in Q2, Samsung will invest in expanding V9 NAND capacity, focusing on the X2 line in Xi’an, China. This line currently produces older 6th and 7th-generation NAND. The nearby X1 line has mostly completed its transition to 8th-generation NAND.
The scale of the discussed conversion investment is approximately 40,000 to 50,000 wpm. Given the timing of equipment investment, V9 NAND is expected to enter the "ramp-up" (mass production expansion) phase next year.
A semiconductor industry official stated, "Samsung initially planned the V9 transition at the Xi’an X2 line for Q1, but the schedule was pushed back to Q2. With conversion investments also being prepared at Pyeongtaek Campus 1 (P1), the proportion of V9 production is expected to increase significantly next year."
SK Hynix is also planning a transition to 321-layer 9th-generation NAND in Q2. The primary goal is to secure a V9 production capacity of approximately 30,000 wpm at the M15 fab in Cheongju. Considering current capacity is around 20,000 wpm, this represents a substantial investment.
Industry experts explained, "Both Samsung and SK Hynix are planning conversion investments to meet the growing demand for cutting-edge NAND. While capital expenditure (CAPEX) strategies have focused on DRAM, NAND is also rapidly experiencing supply shortages."
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SCMP: DeepSeek’s next-generation model reportedly has trillions of parameters, and the sharp increase in model size has slowed down training speed. As a result, the DeepSeek model expected around the Lunar New Year will likely be a minor update to V3. https://t.co/Hq57648BSb
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SCMP: DeepSeek’s next-generation model reportedly has trillions of parameters, and the sharp increase in model size has slowed down training speed. As a result, the DeepSeek model expected around the Lunar New Year will likely be a minor update to V3. https://t.co/Hq57648BSb
New: Almost every frontier Chinese AI lab is racing to release major new models before the Lunar New Year, including Zhipu GLM-5 and MiniMax M2.2. https://t.co/q8N31dhbFb
Meanwhile, despite widespread speculation about V4, DeepSeek is expected to only release a minor upgrade to V3 due to additional time needed to train its next flagship trillion-parameter model, a source said.
h/t Beijing colleague Ben Jiang tweet
Michael Fritzell (Asian Century Stocks)
RT @ArenaManCapital: Conclusion thus far: IMO, LLMs suffer from consensus thinking. It is hard to get an LLM to produce original deep thought. Index/momentum hugging investors might have trouble competing, but concentrated, original thinking investors who know their subject matter are safe.
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RT @ArenaManCapital: Conclusion thus far: IMO, LLMs suffer from consensus thinking. It is hard to get an LLM to produce original deep thought. Index/momentum hugging investors might have trouble competing, but concentrated, original thinking investors who know their subject matter are safe.
Today, what edges do humans have over machines in investing? The edges I see in machines over humans are emotional and research/knowledge. tweet
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ARENA MAN CAPITAL (@ArenaManCapital) on X
Today, what edges do humans have over machines in investing? The edges I see in machines over humans are emotional and research/knowledge.
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Michael Fritzell (Asian Century Stocks)
RT @DavidInglesTV: Markets in Asia are getting shredded on Monday. Indonesia and Korea down over 5% each; commodities tossed out the window https://t.co/j4p6urVQHi
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RT @DavidInglesTV: Markets in Asia are getting shredded on Monday. Indonesia and Korea down over 5% each; commodities tossed out the window https://t.co/j4p6urVQHi
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Michael Fritzell (Asian Century Stocks)
Just sent to you email inboxes (free to read) https://t.co/pKstcnZxua
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Just sent to you email inboxes (free to read) https://t.co/pKstcnZxua
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Jukan
>>TrendForce: Full-Scale Memory Price Increase Forecast for Q1 2026
• According to TrendForce’s latest memory industry report on February 2, with AI and data center demand continuing to expand in Q1 2026, the global memory supply-demand imbalance is deepening, further strengthening the pricing negotiation power of original manufacturers. Reflecting this, TrendForce has comprehensively raised its QoQ price increase forecasts for all DRAM and NAND Flash product categories in Q1.
Conventional DRAM contract prices: previously QoQ +55–60% → revised upward to +90–95%.
NAND Flash contract prices: previously QoQ +33–38% → revised upward to +55–60%.
In addition, the possibility of further upward adjustments in the future is not ruled out.
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>>TrendForce: Full-Scale Memory Price Increase Forecast for Q1 2026
• According to TrendForce’s latest memory industry report on February 2, with AI and data center demand continuing to expand in Q1 2026, the global memory supply-demand imbalance is deepening, further strengthening the pricing negotiation power of original manufacturers. Reflecting this, TrendForce has comprehensively raised its QoQ price increase forecasts for all DRAM and NAND Flash product categories in Q1.
Conventional DRAM contract prices: previously QoQ +55–60% → revised upward to +90–95%.
NAND Flash contract prices: previously QoQ +33–38% → revised upward to +55–60%.
In addition, the possibility of further upward adjustments in the future is not ruled out.
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Chips & SaaS
RT @dnystedt: TSMC’s 2nm capacity is almost fully booked by top-tier clients, media report:
2026
Apple, Qualcomm 2nm smartphone chips
AMD 2nm CPU
2027
AMD MI-series GPUs on 2nm
Google 8th-gen TPU AI chip in Q3
AWS Trainium 4 AI chip in Q4
2028
Nvidia Feynman GPU on TSMC’s A16 process $TSM $AAPL $QCOM $AMD $GOOGL $AMZN $NVDA #semiconductors #semiconductor https://t.co/kTnH81np1B
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RT @dnystedt: TSMC’s 2nm capacity is almost fully booked by top-tier clients, media report:
2026
Apple, Qualcomm 2nm smartphone chips
AMD 2nm CPU
2027
AMD MI-series GPUs on 2nm
Google 8th-gen TPU AI chip in Q3
AWS Trainium 4 AI chip in Q4
2028
Nvidia Feynman GPU on TSMC’s A16 process $TSM $AAPL $QCOM $AMD $GOOGL $AMZN $NVDA #semiconductors #semiconductor https://t.co/kTnH81np1B
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RT @semivision_tw: 🤑NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has wrapped up his Taiwan visit and departed his hotel at noon today (the 2nd) to catch a flight back to the U.S.
Just before leaving, he delivered a major surprise to Taiwan’s tech fans and investors. Huang personally confirmed that he will attend Computex Taipei 2026 this June, and hinted that there will be a “very important” technology announcement at the event.
Even before the show begins, the news has already ignited widespread buzz.
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RT @semivision_tw: 🤑NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has wrapped up his Taiwan visit and departed his hotel at noon today (the 2nd) to catch a flight back to the U.S.
Just before leaving, he delivered a major surprise to Taiwan’s tech fans and investors. Huang personally confirmed that he will attend Computex Taipei 2026 this June, and hinted that there will be a “very important” technology announcement at the event.
Even before the show begins, the news has already ignited widespread buzz.
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Chips & SaaS
RT @TheStalwart: "Oracle Corp. said Sunday it plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 to build additional capacity for its cloud infrastructure through a combination of debt and equity sales." https://t.co/7GCycPmPJB
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RT @TheStalwart: "Oracle Corp. said Sunday it plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 to build additional capacity for its cloud infrastructure through a combination of debt and equity sales." https://t.co/7GCycPmPJB
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RT @wallstengine: South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.3% (its biggest drop since April), with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix down more than 6% each and futures triggering a halt in program trading. https://t.co/ozp24Npyrq
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RT @wallstengine: South Korea’s Kospi fell 5.3% (its biggest drop since April), with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix down more than 6% each and futures triggering a halt in program trading. https://t.co/ozp24Npyrq
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