Kioxia Holdings, a Tokyo-based memory chipmaker, plans to build a third fabrication plant at its Iwate site in northern Japan with SanDisk, according to people familiar with the matter.

The plant will raise output of high-density 3D NAND chips to meet AI-related storage demand.

The companies plan to seek Japanese government subsidies.

Kioxia is expected to announce the expansion on August 27 after starting sample shipments of its 10th-generation BiCS FLASH memory last month.

The Kitakami campus already manufactures BiCS FLASH and added another production building in 2024, making the new facility the next phase of the site’s expansion.

Kioxia plans to make higher-end NAND chips for data centers at Iwate, while its Yokkaichi base in Mie Prefecture will focus on chips for consumer products, including smartphones.

Kioxia and SanDisk have long made NAND in Japan through a joint venture that Tokyo previously backed at Yokkaichi and Kitakami.

Kioxia’s latest BiCS generation includes a 332-layer 3D NAND device aimed at high-capacity, high-performance storage.

Analysts say AI server demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) is tightening supply and supporting NAND prices.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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