Kioxia plans new chip fab in Japan to meet AI memory demand

Kioxia Holdings plans to build a third chipmaking plant at its site in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, with manufacturing partner Sandisk, to produce high-density 3D flash memory chips for AI workloads. The investment responds to a global memory chip shortage that is raising electronics costs.

Kioxia Holdings is building a new chipmaking plant in northern Japan, ratcheting up production capacity to meet climbing AI-related demand for storage. The Tokyo-based maker of NAND flash memory will construct a third facility at its manufacturing site in Iwate Prefecture, people familiar with the matter said. The plant will make the company’s latest high-density 3D flash memory chips designed to help manage massive workflows generated by AI services, the people said, asking not to be named unveiling plans that are private. Kioxia’s investment, to be be carried out with manufacturing partner Sandisk, reflects growing pressure on the world’s largest memory chipmakers to ramp up output and ease a global crunch that’s hiking the cost of electronics.