[News] Kioxia Projects NAND Demand to Triple by 2028 as It Gears up for Expansion amid AI Boom

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Though having abandoned its initial IPO plan in October due to lower market valuation, Kioxia asserts its optimism on NAND. According to a report by Reuters, the Japanese memory giant anticipates flash memory demand to grow approximately 2.7 times by 2028, fueled by the surge in artificial intelligence applications.

According to the report, Kioxia is preparing a significant capacity expansion at its new facility in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, in northern Japan, which was originally set to begin operation last year. Amid challenges due to a downturn in the memory chip market, the start date has reportedly been postponed to autumn 2025.

Kioxia announced in a press release that the building construction of Fab2 (K2) of its Kitakami Plant was completed in July. In addition, some administration and engineering departments will move into a new administration building located adjacent to K2 beginning in November 2024 to oversee the operation of K2.

Citing Tomoharu Watanabe, Kioxia’s executive vice president, the Reuters report notes that in addition to the sufficient capacity Kioxia has at Yokkaichi, Mei Perfecture, Kioxia’s Kitakami factory is set to begin operations next autumn, and the company expects to have ample space to meet demand.

According to a previous report by The Japan Times, Japan’s industry ministry will provide up to 242.9 billion yen (USD 1.64 billion) in subsidies to support Bain Capital-backed Kioxia and Western Digital in expanding memory chip production facilities in Mie and Iwate prefectures.

In July, the company began sample shipments of its newest generation of NAND flash memory, according to the report. In October, it also begun mass production of the industry’s first Universal Flash Storage Ver. 4.0 embedded flash memory devices with 4-bit-per-cell, quadruple-level cell (QLC) technology.

Kioxia achieved revenue of 428.5 billion yen (about USD 2.75 billion) in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, ending June 30, reflecting a 33% increase from the prior quarter and setting a new record for quarterly revenue.

According to TrendForce, in the NAND Flash market, Kioxia ranked third in revenue in the second quarter of 2024, with a 13.8% market share, after Samsung (36.9%) and SK Group (22.1%).

Read more

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(Photo credit: Kioxia)