Kioxia Corporation, a subsidiary of Kioxia Holdings Corporation and Sandisk Corporation, recently announced the start of operations at Fab2 (K2), a state-of-the-art semiconductor fab at its Kitakami Facility in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Fab2 has the capacity to produce eighth-generation, 218-layer 3D flash memory featuring the companies’ revolutionary CMOS Direct-Attached-to-Die (CBA) technology and future advanced 3D flash memory nodes to meet the growing demand for AI-driven storage. Fab2’s production capacity will gradually increase over time in line with market trends, with significant production expected to begin in the first half of 2026.
The Fab2 facility features an earthquake-resistant architectural structure and a design that utilizes state-of-the-art, energy-efficient manufacturing equipment. The facility uses artificial intelligence to increase production efficiency and employs a space-efficient design that maximizes the available space for manufacturing equipment in its cleanrooms. A portion of the investment for Fab2 is subsidized by the Japanese government, as per the plan approved in February 2024.
“We are pleased to begin operations at our new Fab2 facility at the Kitakami Facility,” said Koichiro Shibayama, president and CEO of Kioxia Iwate Corporation, which operates the Kitakami Facility. “The eighth-generation and later 3D flash memory products produced at Fab2 will deliver new value to the rapidly growing AI market. We will continue to leverage our partnership and economies of scale to produce advanced flash memory products and achieve organic corporate 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 beginning to imagine. Flash memory is at the center of this transformation, delivering the speed, efficiency, and scalability needed for this next wave of innovation. We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Kioxia and the scale it provides to enable our customers to fully embrace the opportunities of AI.”
Kioxia and Sandisk have shared a successful joint venture partnership for over 20 years and will continue to maximize synergies and competitiveness through joint development of 3D flash memory and making capital investments as market trends dictate.
