Solidigm has told customers it is adding a new contract manufacturing site in Taiwan for data centre SSDs, with output from December. It widens how many finished drives can be built, but it does not add NAND, and enterprise SSD prices are still forecast to rise faster in the fourth quarter.
What was announced
- According to Seoul Economic Daily, Solidigm notified customers in a product change notification in September that it is adding a new original design manufacturing (ODM) site in Taiwan for data centre SSDs. Products from the site are due to ship from December under the same terms as existing output.
- Solidigm does not run its own NAND fab in Taiwan. It outsources part of its SSD production there to ODM partners, with Powertech Technology and Pegatron previously known among them. The new partner has not been named in reporting.
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the aim is closer ties with Taiwanese AI server makers such as Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, Wiwynn, Inventec and Gigabyte, which TrendForce says account for more than 90% of global AI server shipments.
- Solidigm has invested NT$16 billion in Taiwanese DRAM maker Nanya Technology to secure DRAM used in SSDs locally.
- Parent SK hynix plans M17, a new 80 trillion won NAND fab in Cheongju, with operation targeted for 2029, and is pursuing an expansion of its second plant in Dalian, China.
- TrendForce puts combined revenue of the top five enterprise SSD brands at US$37.59 billion in 2Q26, up 103.6% quarter on quarter, with SK hynix Group second behind Samsung at more than US$8.63 billion. Seoul Economic Daily gives the shares as 35.1% for Samsung and 21.1% for SK hynix including Solidigm.
- TrendForce projects enterprise SSD bit demand growing more than 80% year on year in 2026 and expects price growth to accelerate in 4Q26, with most incremental supply already committed.
- Seoul Economic Daily cites DRAMeXchange's average NAND price for September at US$30.61, about eight times the level of a year earlier.
The ETON view
It is easy to read a new factory as a sign of relief on supply. This one is not, at least not yet. An ODM site assembles finished drives from NAND, controllers and DRAM that still have to come from somewhere, and SK hynix's big new NAND fab is not due to run until 2029. What the Taiwan site does is put more finished-drive capacity right next to the server makers building AI systems for the hyperscalers. That shortens their supply chain and helps them win allocation. It does little for an enterprise or hosting buyer further down the queue, and TrendForce still expects enterprise SSD prices to climb faster this quarter.
There is also a smaller, practical point. A product change notification means drives with the same part number can now come from more than one production site. For most buyers that changes nothing, but anyone running a tightly qualified storage platform should check firmware levels and part numbers on incoming stock, and keep matching drives together within an array where they can.
Our view is that buyers planning storage for 2026 and 2027 should assume enterprise NVMe stays expensive and allocated. Lock pricing on firm projects early, qualify more than one manufacturer for each capacity point so a shortage on one line does not stall a deployment, and use tiering so expensive flash only holds the data that is genuinely active. Tested pre-owned enterprise SSDs with plenty of endurance left are also a sensible option for refreshes and expansions. We source Solidigm, Samsung, Kioxia and Micron drives in HPE, Dell and Lenovo fit, give honest lead times, and can buy back the drives you retire.
Related infrastructure
Category: Storage · Vendor: Solidigm, SK hynix · Technology: Enterprise NVMe SSD, NAND flash · Last verified: 08 Oct 2026 · ~3 min read
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