SK Hynix has completed negotiations on long-term supply agreements with about 10 customers, including core clients, it said. The contracts typically run five years and include financial arrangements such as deposits alongside purchase commitments. The company said tight memory supply-demand conditions are likely to persist, supporting customers’ push for mid- to long-term supply stability. It is also negotiating 2027 HBM supply volumes and prices with key customers.

As AI inference spreads, cold data is surging and extending HDD supply lead times. With HDD replacement difficult and NAND supply constraints adding pressure, development of high-capacity, low-cost QLC SSDs is being spurred. Export data show a sharp rise in SSD shipments, outpacing NAND component exports, suggesting big tech and cloud operators are expanding storage infrastructure. Rising KV cache demand and NAND price gains are also accelerating the shift toward QLC SSDs.