Who Are: The Top 5 NAND Flash Memory Manufacturers in the World as of 2025

First off, it’s important to know that NAND flash memory powers everything from smartphones and laptops to massive data centers and cloud storage systems. In 2025, just five companies control over 90% of the global NAND market which is a testament to the complexity, capital, and innovation needed to produce these essential chips.

In the order of global market share, let us take a closer look at the top five NAND manufacturers and with a quick dive into their company history.

At #1 we have Samsung Electronics (South Korea) with a 31% Market Share

Samsung has been the undisputed king of NAND flash for over a decade and the set the standard for quality. With cutting-edge V-NAND (Vertical NAND) architecture and some of the most advanced semiconductor fabs in the world, Samsung is still the leader of performance and capacity.

Samsung at a glance

Founded in 1938 as a trading company, Samsung entered the electronics industry in the late 1960s. By the 1980s, it was investing heavily in semiconductors, laying the groundwork for its current dominance.

At #2 we have SK hynix (also South Korea ) with a 18% Market Share

SK hynix is a newer name in the industry but rapidly grew in the NAND space, especially after acquiring Intel’s NAND business in 2021. SK hynix created the “Solidigm” business division to represent the enterprise and data center SSD business sector.

SK hynix at a glance

Originally part of Hyundai Group, SK hynix started in 1983 and grew into a major DRAM producer. Its NAND growth was supercharged by Intel’s exit, and their purchase of it, making Hynix a global heavyweight almost overnight. Money does talk!

Coming in at #3 Kioxia (Japan) which has a 17% Market Share

Kioxia is better known as Toshiba Memory from before the change in 2019. Kioxia is credited with inventing NAND flash in the 1980s but unfortunately has not been able to capture the “high quality” component which Samsung has achieved. Toshiba…we mean, Kioxia continues to lead innovation with joint manufacturing ventures alongside Western Digital in Japan.

About Kioxia

Toshiba, founded in 1875, spun off its memory division in 2017, which was renamed Kioxia in 2019. Despite the name change, it maintains deep roots in flash memory innovation.

In a solid #4 spot Western Digital (USA) captures 15% of Market Share

Western Digital may be best known for its hard drives, but its SanDisk acquisition in 2016 catapulted it into the NAND flash big leagues. In partnership with Kioxia, WD continues to produce high-quality NAND for consumer and enterprise use.

About Western Digital

Founded in 1970, Western Digital began as a calculator chip maker before pivoting to storage. It evolved with the market, transitioning from hard drives to solid state drives (SSDs) with strategic acquisitions like SanDisk. Western Digital is based out of San Jose California

Rounding things out, #5 Micron Technology (USA)with an 11% Market Share

Micron is the only U.S. based memory manufacturer with strong capabilities in both DRAM and NAND. Micron has made big strides in 3D NAND technology and offering competitive solutions for PCs, smartphones, and data centers. Micron has earned a strong reputation for high quality memory equal to the “leader” of Samsung.

About Micron

Micron was founded in 1978 in Boise, Idaho. It began as a DRAM producer and expanded into NAND flash in the early 2000s, later forming (and eventually dissolving) a joint venture with Intel.

In 2025, the global NAND flash memory market is highly consolidated, with just five companies controlling roughly 92% of total output. Whether you’re saving selfies on your phone or storing enterprise data in the cloud, chances are your information is riding on memory made by one of these giants.

The estimates for this market will reach $117 billion by 2030. This is a signal that NAND flash memory will continue to be a key roll in technology products and mostly driven by increased demand for smartphones, solid-state drives (SSDs), and data center storage solutions.

Have you ever tried plugging something old into something new, and it just didn’t fit? Like trying to charge an old toy with a new charger? That’s the kind of problem some people have when working with really old computers and machines. One of the most common connector types starting in the early 1960s was the “serial” connection or “DB” connector.

A serial connector is a type of plug used to connect devices like computers, printers, and modems. It sends data one bit at a time, in a single line – like sending letters one by one through a pipe. This was the main way for computers to talk to other devices before USBs (Universal Serial Bus) became popular.

The first serial port (specifically the RS-232 standard) was invented in 1960 by a group called the Electronic Industries Association (EIA). It was made to help different kinds of machines communicate easily.

It became widely available to the public in the early 1960s, especially when computers and terminals started using it more often in offices and labs. By the 1980s the DB9 was the most common serial connector and was a common feature on most computers.

Sabrent has created a special cable that lets old machines talk to new computers. It’s called a DB9 Serial to USB-C cable.

DB9 Serial is an old way that machines used to send information to each other. It’s a type of plug that has 9 little pins. USB-C is the newer, smaller plug that you see on most new computers, tablets, and phones today. It’s the oval-shaped one you can plug in either way!

Why is the serial connector to USB-C important?

A lot of businesses and even schools still use really old equipment like:

• Old computer screens (called terminals)
• Printers
• Modems (a device that helps computers talk over the phone line)
• GPS systems (machines that tell you where you are)

But new computers don’t have the old DB9 Serial plug anymore. That’s why this new Sabrent cable is so helpful It acts like a translator so old machines and new computers can understand each other.

What is cool about the Sabrent cable?

If you’ve been hearing about a new technology standard called GPMI and wondering what it is, you’re not alone. So what is GPMI? To the best or our knowledge this is what GPMI is:

A group of over 50 Chinese companies also known as the “Shenzhen 8K UHD Video Industry Cooperation Alliance,” announced this new technology called GPMI, which stands for General Purpose Media Interface.

We thought at first this was like HDMI or DisplayPort but it isn’t; although GPMI is designed to be the next generation alternative. The goal is to deliver faster speeds and more features through a single cable with a socket type everyone already has.

Right now, when you connect a laptop to a monitor, you typically need two cables: one for the video signal (like HDMI) and another one for power (like your charging cable). GPMI changes that. It combines super high data speeds with power delivery into one cable, making setups much simpler and cleaner.

There are two types of GPMI cables:

1. GPMI Type-B uses a new, proprietary connector and can deliver up to 192 gigabits per second of data and 480 watts of power — that’s way more than today’s HDMI or DisplayPort cables.
2. GPMI Type-C uses the familiar USB-C connector and still offers impressive performance, with 96 gigabits per second of data and 240 watts of power.

What does this mean for tech?

It means GPMI could easily become the default protocol for anything audio and video. With support for 8K displays, high-end gaming setups, streaming devices, andpower-hungry devices, all while letting you control multiple devices with a single remote (similar to how HDMI-CEC works today).

Compared to today’s popular standards like HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and USB4, GPMI Type-B stands out by offering much higher bandwidth and significantly more power. If GPMI catches on, it could completely change how we connect and power our devices — at least in China to start, and possibly around the world later.

Just to clear up any confusion: you might have seen people mention GDMI (General Digital Media Interface), but that’s actually a mistake. The correct term is GPMI – General Purpose Media Interface.

This is exciting news for tech lovers because it promises faster speeds, cleaner setups, and future-proof devices.

Here’s a comparison table between GPMI, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 2.1:

Feature	GPMI Type-B	HDMI 2.1	DisplayPort 2.1
Max Bandwidth	192 Gbps	48 Gbps	80 Gbps (UHBR 20 mode)
Max Resolution	8K and beyond (future-ready)	10K @ 120Hz (compressed)	16K @ 60Hz (compressed)
Power Delivery	480W	~1–5V at 50mA (very low)	No power delivery (video only)
Connector Type	Proprietary (Type-B), USB-C (Type-C)	HDMI (Type-A/B/C/D)	DisplayPort, USB-C (Alt Mode)
Control Functions	Yes (CEC-like features)	Yes (HDMI-CEC)	Yes (Aux channel, MST)
Compression Standard	Unknown (likely proprietary or TBD)	DSC (Display Stream Compression)	DSC (Display Stream Compression)
Backward Compatibility	No (brand new tech)	Yes (with older HDMI)	Yes (with older DP)
Market Maturity	New (early 2025)	Very mature	Mature
Main Backers	50+ Chinese companies	HDMI Forum (Sony, Intel, etc.)	VESA (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA)