Tech Giant Begins to Fold, Crisis Becomes More Ominous
The semiconductor crisis triggered by a surge in demand from the artificial intelligence (AI) industry is worsening. Japanese tech giant Sony has even been forced to temporarily suspend its memory card business.
Sony has announced the suspension of order acceptance for nearly all lines of SD and CFexpress memory cards starting 27 March 2026. This step is being taken because global memory supplies can no longer meet the surge in demand.
“Due to the global semiconductor (memory) shortage and other factors, it is anticipated that supplies of CFexpress and SD memory cards will be unable to meet demand for an undetermined period. Therefore, we have decided to temporarily suspend order acceptance from official dealers and customers at Sony Stores starting 27 March 2026,” Sony stated in its official announcement, quoted from Peta Pixel on Wednesday (1/4/2026).
All of Sony’s memory card lines are affected, including CFexpress Type A, CFexpress Type B, and SD cards. CFexpress Type A cards with capacities of 240GB, 480GB, 960GB, and 1920GB are being discontinued, as are Type B cards with capacities of 240GB and 480GB.
Sony’s entire high-end SD card lineup is also being halted, including the TOUGH-branded cards with capacities of 256GB, 128GB, and 64GB, as well as lower-end cards with capacities of 512GB, 256GB, 128GB, and 256GB offering speeds up to V60.
Even lower-end V30 SD cards with capacities of 128GB and 64GB are being discontinued, indicating that this crisis impacts all types of solid-state memory, not just premium products.
This notice suggests that Sony plans to reintroduce these products in the future, but the company has not provided certainty on when production will resume normally.
This memory crisis is occurring due to high demand from AI data centres. Memory component prices are rising because chip supplies are limited and largely allocated to major companies developing AI data centres.
Not only are prices increasing, but supply limitations are also preventing several products from being produced due to component shortages.
As a result, Sony has decided to temporarily withdraw from memory card production until the market stabilises. Sony is the first company in the photography sector to take this step, but it is unlikely to be the last.