February 17, 2026 /SemiMedia/ — Global memory revenue is set to reach $551.6 billion in 2026, more than double the size of the foundry market, as AI server deployments drive strong demand for DRAM and enterprise SSDs, TrendForce said.

The research firm said both memory and foundry segments will hit record highs next year, with foundry revenue projected at $218.7 billion. However, growth in memory is accelerating faster, helped by tight supply and rising prices across key product categories.

Unlike the 2017–2019 upcycle, which was mainly driven by data center expansion, the current cycle is being powered by AI infrastructure. As workloads shift from model training to large-scale inference, servers are requiring higher-capacity and higher-bandwidth DRAM, pushing average memory content per system higher.

TrendForce added that Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform is also lifting demand for high-performance memory and enterprise SSDs, increasing storage’s share in AI server bill-of-materials.

The buying pattern has changed as well. Cloud service providers have become the main drivers of demand, purchasing in much larger volumes and showing lower price sensitivity than traditional customers. That shift has helped push memory prices beyond levels seen in the previous cycle.

With AI investment still rising and new supply slow to come online, TrendForce said memory makers now have stronger pricing power. Average selling prices are expected to remain elevated, allowing memory revenue growth to continue outpacing foundry over the next two years.