'The retail SSD market has almost disappeared,' says Silicon Motion exec — PC OEMs are buying third-party drives as direct NAND supply dries up

The retail SSD market is nearly gone, according to a Silicon Motion executive, as manufacturers are shifting NAND supply towards AI data centers instead. This shift is causing PC Original Equipment Manufacturers to turn to third-party SSDs for their needs. It's a significant change, as the market's shift indicates a growing focus on enterprise and data center demands over consumer retail products, which could impact availability and pricing for individual consumers.