In the first half of the year, memory and storage names led S&P 500 gains, underscoring a shift in AI infrastructure needs.

Western Digital reported total revenue exceeding $3 billion, up 45%, highlighting growing storage capacity for AI workloads.

AI has historically driven demand for GPUs, with Nvidia and AMD as leading chip designers.

Focused inference workloads are fueling data generation and storage needs, reinforcing the AI growth narrative.

SanDisk, Micron, and Western Digital ranked among the top performers on stronger data center demand and AI-related storage needs.

Analysts now view memory and storage as critical AI infrastructure alongside GPUs, signaling both will play important roles.

The balance is clear: GPUs remain essential for training, but memory and storage are increasingly foundational for AI applications and deployment.

The takeaway is that AI infrastructure will rely on a diversified set of components, with memory and storage becoming central to ongoing AI adoption.

SanDisk’s NAND memory posted over 640% year-over-year growth in data center revenue to $1.4 billion in the latest quarter.

Micron reported data center revenue up over 650% to $11 billion, reflecting broad demand for memory solutions.