Why Western Digital (WDC) rose 4.32%
Western Digital (WDC) rose 4.32% on August 12, 2026 — CoreWeave's old-chip reuse story boosts memory demand.
What happened
CoreWeave's announcement that it is profitably deploying older Nvidia H100s and A100s for inference workloads triggered a broad AI Memory rally, lifting Western Digital alongside memory and interconnect peers.
Why it moved
Inference-tier GPU demand from CoreWeave and similar providers broadens the addressable market for storage and NAND — older chips running longer inference jobs require sustained capacity, offsetting fears that capex…
Why it matters
The AI Memory theme is moving from 'who builds the newest chips fastest' to 'who supplies the silicon ecosystem at every tier' — storage and connectivity now matter as much as edge compute, extending the cycle.
What would break the thesis
If inference workloads plateau or hyperscalers consolidate to in-house silicon, Western Digital's legacy NAND demand could erode faster than new AI-driven growth can compensate.
Sources
- CoreWeave Is Making Old Nvidia Chips Look New Again — Benzinga
- Why is Western Digital stock surging today? — Investing.com