Kioxia (SANDISK) ships next-gen 3D NAND, doubles Japan plant capacity for AI demand. Demand remains robust.

1. The Big News Today: Next-Gen Memory Mass Production

Kioxia held a major ceremony at its Kitakami fabrication plant in northern Japan to announce it has **commenced sample shipments of its 10th-generation BiCS FLASH™ memory**. Developed alongside SanDisk, this new flash memory is optimized specifically for AI inference workloads. Industry analysts note that Kioxia's proprietary wafer-bonding technology **puts its high-performance, low-power NAND tech roughly 2 to 4 years ahead of its rivals.**

This is the company’s most advanced flash memory product to date, offering approximately 60% higher storage density than its previous flagship generation and a data transfer rate of 4.8 Gbps—about 30% faster than the prior generation.

2. "Demand remains robust—"capital expenditures may increase,"

CEO Hiroo Ota stated unequivocally, "**We do not see any signs of weakening demand from data centers**," adding that the company would "resolutely respond to market growth," signaling it may further increase capital expenditures. This statement directly addressed market concerns about the sustainability of AI-driven storage demand.

Hiroo Ota further noted at the event that **the rise of AI agents and the broader adoption of AI technologies in fields such as robotics will further expand the addressable market for flash memory.**