NAND Flash suppliers are broadening their enterprise SSD product lines to boost profits and refine their offerings, according to TrendForce's recent memory industry report. Increased shipment volumes and higher contract prices are expected to propel the combined revenue of the top five enterprise SSD brands to double quarter-over-quarter, reaching $37.59 billion in 2Q26—a staggering 103.6% increase.

TrendForce expects enterprise SSD demand to remain elevated in 3Q26 thanks to the growing adoption of generative AI agent services, steady data center infrastructure deployments by CSPs, and large-scale shipments of NVIDIA GB-series AI server racks. These factors are expected to drive industry revenue even higher. However, rising output from Chinese suppliers and the emergence of China's domestic cloud market could reshape the competitive landscape going forward.

Global leader in storage and embedded solutions, Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), today announced its new generation of industrial SSD and memory card solutions powered by advanced 218-layer 3D NAND flash technology. Featuring optimized architecture and increased storage density, the new product lineup unlocks the full potential of next-generation flash memory performance to address the growing demands of AIoT edge computing and smart manufacturing. Designed for data-intensive environments, these solutions empower a wide range of applications across industrial automation, data centers, and intelligent surveillance systems.

High-Performance SSDs for AI and Data-Intensive Workloads
Transcend's latest family of 218-layer SSDs is engineered to meet the stringent requirements of AI-driven applications. Leading the lineup is the flagship MTE740A, featuring a high-speed PCIe Gen 5 x4 interface and NVMe 2.0 compliance. Delivering sequential read speeds of up to 14,000 MB/s and random read performance of up to 2.1 million IOPS, the MTE740A enables rapid processing of massive AI datasets and real-time analytics. To address a broad range of embedded computing needs, Transcend also introduces the MTE770A PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 2280 SSD, the compact MTE490A PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 2242 SSD for space-constrained embedded systems, and the SATA III-based 2.5-inch SSD490K.

KIOXIA today introduced a 4 TB variant to its Exceria G3 series of mid-range M.2 Gen 5 NVMe SSDs. The company had debuted this series last December, with only 1 TB and 2 TB variants at the time. It features a combination of Phison E31T series DRAMless controller, paired with Kioxia's own 218-layer BiCS8 3D QLC NAND flash memory, but now comes in a 4 TB variant.

The new 4 TB variant offers mostly similar performance to the existing 2 TB variant, with up to 10 GB/s sequential reads, and up to 9.6 GB/s sequential writes; along with up to 1.45 million IOPS for 4K random reads and writes. Write endurance is rated at 2,400 TBW. With a whole-drive peak power draw of just 6.4 W, the drive doesn't come with any cooling solution. The company didn't reveal pricing. The drive is backed by a 5-year warranty.

Kioxia announced its medium to long-term growth strategy and as a part of its growth strategy, the company is betting on advanced SSD technology to capture more market share. The company's most ambitious project is a breakthrough SSD that combines their XL-FLASH memory with a brand-new controller design. "We're taking our ultra-fast XL-Flash memory chips, which use single-level cells, and pairing them with a completely new controller," a company representative explained. "This combination should give us unprecedented performance for small-scale data operations. We're targeting over 10 million IOPS, and we plan to have samples ready by the second half of 2026." The company is also working closely with major GPU manufacturers to optimize performance for AI and graphics-intensive applications.

Meanwhile, Kioxia is rolling out its current generation of SSDs built on 8th generation BiCS FLASH technology. The CM9 series targets AI systems that need both blazing speed and rock-solid reliability to get the most out of expensive GPU hardware. On the other end, the LC9 series focuses on massive storage capacity, hitting 122 terabytes per drive for applications like large-scale databases that power AI inference systems.

Kioxia had a small dugout at the 2025 International CES. The NAND flash major tends to have a much bigger booth at FMS than CES. The one in Vegas had its latest enterprise SSDs, all of which were launched through 2024, and a couple of new things. We first got a practical demo of how Kioxia achieves 218 layers of NAND flash in its latest generation of BiCS Flash using an architectural innovation called CBA—CMOS directly bonded to array. In CBA, the cell array acts like a pizza topping to the crust that is the CMOS layer, rather than being arranged side-by-side. This allows for greater density of flash cells. This also has certain performance and power advantages.

Next up, the company showed us their automotive-grade UFS 4.0 non-volatile storage device, which uses the latest 218-layer 3D NAND flash memory. This device was announced toward the end of 2024, and gathered a salad of certifications that make it fit for the latest generation of automobiles with advanced technology such as FSD, or an infotainment system that's practically as powerful as a PC. We also got a fascinating look at the testbed Kioxia uses to validate its automotive UFS 4.0 devices.

Kioxia today introduced the Exceria Plus G4, a mid-range M.2 NVMe Gen 5 SSD. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drive takes advantage of the PCI-Express 5.0 x4 host interface, and comes in capacities of 1 TB and 2 TB. Both models offer sequential read speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s, but while the 1 TB model offers up to 7,900 MB/s sequential writes, the 2 TB model does up to 8,200 MB/s. 4K random access performance for both models are listed at up to 1.3 million IOPS reads, with up to 1.4 million IOPS writes. The 1 TB model endures up to 600 TBW of writes, while the 2 TB model is double that, at 1,200 TBW. Under the hood, the Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 appears to combine a Phison E31T series DRAMless NVMe Gen 5 controller, with Kioxia 218-layer BiCS flash memory. The company is backing the drive with 5-year product warranty. It didn't reveal pricing information.

MSI also brought plenty of SSD products to the Computex 2024 show, including the new SPATIUM M560 PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD based on the Phison E31T controller and Kioxia's 218-layer BiCS 3D TLC NAND, the new SPATIUM non-metal Vapor Chamber SSD Thermal Solution, and a couple of SSD accessories, including the DATAMAG Magnetic Portable SSD and the DATAVAULT SSD Enclosure.

As said, the new SPATIUM M560 PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD will use the Phison 7 nm E31T controller paired up with Kioxia 8th generation 218-layer BiCS 3D TLC NAND and offer transfer rates of up to 10,000 MB/s. The controller, according to MSI, should bring up to a 15 percent reduction in power consumption as well as "maximize bandwidths and link efficiency". It will be available in 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities, and MSI will probably have a version that will include the new SPATIUM non-metal Vapor Chamber SSD Thermal Solution which has been also showcased at the Computex 2024 show. MSI says that this is yet another world's first, which uses "a two-phase flow transition of gas and liquid with minimal signal interference, ensuring rapid and silent heat exchange." According to MSI, the new SPATIUM non-metal Vapor Chamber SSD Thermal Solution should provide up to 11 degrees lower temperature compared to a standard aluminium heatsink.

TrendForce reports that anticipation of NAND Flash price hikes into Q2 has motivated certain suppliers to minimize losses and lower costs in hopes of returning to profitability this year. Kioxia and WD led the charge from March, boosting their capacity utilization rates to nearly 90%—a move not widely adopted by their competitors.

TrendForce points out that to meet the demand surge in the second half of the year, especially given Kioxia and Western Digital's currently low inventory, the production increase is mainly targeting 112-layer and select 2D products. This strategy is expected not only to secure profitability within the year but also to contribute to a projected 10.9% rise in the annual NAND Flash industry supply bit growth rate for 2024.

Demonstrating continued innovation, Kioxia Corporation and Western Digital Corp. today announced details of their newest 3D flash memory technology. Applying advanced scaling and wafer bonding technologies, the 3D flash memory delivers exceptional capacity, performance and reliability at a compelling cost, which makes it ideal for meeting the needs of exponential data growth across a broad range of market segments.

"The new 3D flash memory demonstrates the benefits of our strong partnership with Kioxia and our combined innovation leadership," said Alper Ilkbahar, Senior Vice President of Technology & Strategy at Western Digital. "By working with one common R&D roadmap and continued investment in R&D, we have been able to productize this fundamental technology ahead of schedule and deliver high-performance, capital-efficient solutions."