News | October 1, 2025

Kioxia And Sandisk Announce Start Of Fab2 Operations At Kitakami, Japan, To Meet AI-Driven Market Demand

Tokyo and Milpitas, CA ( BUSINESS WIRE ) - Kioxia Corporation , a subsidiary of Kioxia Holdings Corporation (TOKYO: 285A), and Sandisk Corporation today announced the start of operations at Fab2 (K2), a state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing facility, at the company's Kitakami facility in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Fab2 is capable of producing eighth-generation, 218-layer 3D flash memory featuring the companies' groundbreaking CMOS directly bonded to array (CBA) technology, as well as future advanced 3D flash memory nodes to meet the growing demand for AI-driven storage. Fab2's production capacity will gradually increase over time based on market trends, with significant production expected to begin in the first half of 2026.

The Fab2 factory features an earthquake-resistant architectural structure and a design that utilizes state-of-the-art energy-saving manufacturing equipment. The factory uses artificial intelligence to improve production efficiency and boasts an optimized design that expands the space available for manufacturing equipment in its cleanrooms. Part of the investment for Fab2 is being subsidized by the Japanese government, according to the plan approved in February 2024.

“We are excited to begin operations at our new Fab2 facility in Kitakami,” said Koichiro Shibayama, President and CEO of Kioxia Iwate Corporation, which operates the Kitakami facility. “The eighth-generation and beyond 3D flash memory products manufactured at Fab2 will provide new added value to the rapidly expanding AI market. We will continue to leverage our partnership and economies of scale to produce advanced flash memory products and achieve organic business growth. Kioxia will continue to contribute to the advancement of the semiconductor industry and the development of local and national economies.”

Maitreyee Mahajani, Senior Vice President of Flash Front End Operations at Sandisk, said: “As AI advances, it is poised to transform industries, redefine careers, and reshape everyday life in ways we are only just beginning to imagine. Flash memory is at the very heart of this transformation, delivering the speed, efficiency, and scalability needed for this new wave of innovation. We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Kioxia and the scale it provides to enable our customers to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by AI.”

Kioxia and Sandisk have shared a successful partnership for over 20 years and will continue to maximize their synergies and competitiveness through joint development of 3D flash memory and capital investments tailored to market trends.

About Kioxia
Kioxia is a global leader in memory solutions, dedicated to the development, production, and sale of flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). In April 2017, its predecessor, Toshiba Memory, was spun off from Toshiba Corporation, the company that invented NAND flash memory in 1987. Kioxia is committed to improving the world through “memory” by offering products, services, and systems that create choice for customers and memory-based value for society. Kioxia’s innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH™, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, automotive systems, data centers, and generative AI systems.

About Sandisk
Sandisk delivers innovative flash solutions and advanced memory technologies that meet the needs of people and businesses at the intersection of their aspirations and the present moment, enabling them to continue moving forward and pushing the boundaries of possibility. Follow Sandisk on Instagram , Facebook , X , LinkedIn and YouTube . Join TeamSandisk on Instagram.

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