Sony has hit pause on a major part of its storage business, and not-so-surprisingly, AI is one of the reasons behind it. The company has officially announced that it is temporarily suspending orders for most of its CFexpress and SD memory cards, citing a global shortage of semiconductor memory.
The suspension applies to both retailers and direct customers, and there’s currently no clear timeline for when sales will resume. This isn’t just a minor supply hiccup. Instead, it’s a sign of a much bigger problem brewing across the tech industry.
So what’s actually going on?
At the core of this is a global memory shortage, and AI is a big part of the story. Demand for memory chips has exploded thanks to AI data centers and high-performance computing, which are consuming massive amounts of DRAM and NAND storage. That’s pushing manufacturers to prioritize high-margin enterprise products like SSDs over consumer products like memory cards. In simple terms: the same chips that power your camera’s SD card are now being redirected to fuel AI infrastructure.
As a result, Sony has halted orders for most of its CFexpress Type A, Type B, and SD card lineup, including high-end “TOUGH” cards and standard consumer models. However, not everything is gone. As suggested by PetaPixel, some lower-end SD cards and select CFexpress Type B models are still available, at least until existing inventory runs out. So while the business isn’t completely dead, it’s very much on life support for now.
So… is this a pause or a goodbye?
While this looks like a major shutdown, it’s not necessarily the end. Sony’s notice makes it clear that the company intends to bring these products back at some point, but there’s no timeline on when production or sales might resume. For now, it’s more of a “we’ll be back… eventually” situation. Just don’t expect your next memory card upgrade anytime soon.