With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the demand for high-performance storage solutions in data centers has surged dramatically. Japanese storage giant Kioxia is actively positioning itself to meet this demand, planning to start production of its 10th-generation NAND Flash in 2026. This move is not only a significant technological breakthrough for Kioxia but also a crucial step in its strategic layout for the AI era.

Kioxia plans to produce the 10th-generation NAND Flash at its factory in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture. The new generation of NAND Flash will see the number of memory cell layers increase from 218 in the current 8th generation to 332 layers. This improvement brings notable performance enhancements: a 59% increase in storage capacity per unit area, a 33% improvement in data transfer speed, and reduced power consumption. These features give Kioxia's 10th-generation NAND Flash a significant edge in meeting the large-capacity, high-performance storage needs of AI data centers.

It is worth noting that Kioxia will not build a new factory for this production. Instead, it will utilize the second building (K2) of the Kitakami factory, which began operations in September this year, to produce the 10th-generation NAND Flash. This strategy not only saves time and costs associated with constructing a new facility but also allows for a quicker response to market demands. The production capacity of the K2 factory will be gradually scaled up according to market trends, with mass production expected to start in the first half of 2026.

Competitive Landscape and Future Outlook

Driven by AI technology, the global storage market is undergoing significant changes. According to TrendForce, capital expenditure on DRAM is expected to grow by 14% year-on-year in 2026, while that on NAND Flash is projected to increase by 5%. Despite other competitors such as Samsung and SK Hynix also actively positioning themselves, Kioxia, with its deep accumulation and technological innovation in the NAND Flash field, is poised to capture a significant share of the AI data center market.

Kioxia's plan to produce the 10th-generation NAND Flash is an important measure to meet the challenges of the AI era. By increasing storage capacity and performance, Kioxia can not only meet the high-performance storage needs of data centers but also maintain a leading position in the fierce market competition. In addition, Kioxia also plans to further increase investment in 2026 to expand the production scale of BiCS8 to support AI and data center workloads.

Kioxia's strategic layout will not only promote its own technological progress and market expansion but also provide strong support for the development of global AI data centers. With the mass production of the 10th-generation NAND Flash, Kioxia is expected to occupy an important position in the AI storage market and lay a solid foundation for future digital transformation.

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