USB Drive Prices Surge as AI Absorbs Memory
AI data-center demand is pulling NAND flash supply away from consumer drives, with new fabs not expected to ship for several years.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Semiconductors
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USB flash drive prices have climbed sharply as AI data-center demand absorbs NAND flash memory, the storage chip inside every USB drive. The Oyen Digital Dash Pro 4TB now costs $969, up from $409 in May 2025, and the SanDisk Dual Drive Go 256GB now costs $58, up from $35.49 in March 2025. These are shipped retail prices, not forecasts.
Why it matters
NAND manufacturers find it more profitable to sell chips to AI data centers and enterprise SSDs than to low-margin consumer drives, so consumer supply is being squeezed. Competition for NAND supply has intensified as AI memory demand grows, and higher prices have made consumers more cautious about buying flash storage.
Retail prices rose roughly 137% for the Oyen 4TB drive, 121% for the Buffalo 2TB drive and 64% for the SanDisk 256GB between the cited review dates. SanDisk's 51% single-quarter revenue jump is attributed largely to higher prices rather than volume. TrendForce reports NAND wafer prices at historical highs.
The players
SanDisk
A flash storage manufacturer whose products span USB drives and SSDs, and whose quarterly revenue jump was largely driven by higher prices.
SK Hynix
A South Korean memory chipmaker that has invested $40 billion in two new semiconductor fabs in Korea.
TrendForce
A Taiwan-based market research firm that tracks DRAM and NAND flash pricing and forecasts contract prices.
The details
NAND flash is a type of non-volatile memory, meaning it retains data without power, and it is the storage medium in USB drives and solid-state drives (SSDs). Wafers are the thin silicon discs on which chips are fabricated, so wafer prices feed directly into the cost of finished storage. Because AI data centers consume large quantities of SSD storage, manufacturers allocate capacity toward those higher-margin enterprise buyers, and the small markup on a 256GB consumer stick looks unattractive by comparison.
Timeline
March 2025: SanDisk Dual Drive Go 256GB priced at $35.49.
May 2025: Oyen Digital Dash Pro 4TB priced at $409.
September 2026: TrendForce reports NAND wafer prices at historical highs.
August 2026: SanDisk revenue figures show a 51% jump.
The Tech Race
Samsung's and Micron's competitors in NAND have been shifting capacity toward AI-grade storage, as SK Hynix's $40 billion in Korean fabs and Micron's $24 billion Singapore investment show. Those new fabs are not expected to ship for several years, so the consumer squeeze is likely to persist through that window.
Buyers of USB flash drives and portable SSDs are paying substantially more now, and the forecast 15% to 20% NAND contract price rise through 2026 suggests little near-term relief. New fabs from SK Hynix and Micron are not expected to ship for several years, so timing for any return to earlier prices remains uncertain.
The takeaway
AI data-center demand is now shaping the price of ordinary consumer storage, not just enterprise hardware. Watch TrendForce's end-2026 NAND contract price data to see whether the forecast 15% to 20% rise materializes.
Further reading
For background on the chips driving this shift, explore our Semiconductors coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by SlashGear.
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