Tokyo-based Kioxia Holdings and SanDisk plan a joint investment exceeding 5 trillion yen (about $31.4 billion) in Japan to expand NAND flash memory production capacity. Kioxia Chief Executive Officer Hiroo Ota said the investment would be carried out over six years; he made the announcement on Thursday.
How the funds will be used
Kioxia said it would allocate 1.8 trillion yen of the planned investment to build a new factory in Kitakami. The facility is expected to produce the most advanced, high-density 3D NAND flash memory chips, which are important for handling the large volumes of data generated by AI services and data centers.
Why the expansion matters
The announcement responds to a global shortage of storage chips. The joint investment underlines the pressure on memory-chip manufacturers to increase output and ease supply constraints. Prices for memory and storage devices have risen worldwide, affecting major buyers such as Nvidia as well as automakers and mobile-device manufacturers, and putting pressure on profit margins. Nvidia executives also spoke this week about supply limitations and margin pressures.
Government support and strategic significance
Kioxia expects that the Japanese government could cover roughly one-third of the investment cost through subsidies. David Goeckeler, Chief Executive Officer of SanDisk, said the joint investment and government support could help Japan play a leading role in this strategic technology.
The move is part of broader industry efforts to expand capacity in critical semiconductor segments, particularly high-density 3D NAND, which is essential for AI and other data-intensive applications.
Timing and next steps
Kioxia and SanDisk said they will provide further details after the companies and the Japanese government finalize arrangements. For now, the public announcement and the prospect of state support form the basis for the planned expansion.
