Overview
- Kioxia began mass production of its 10th‑generation, 332‑layer BiCS Flash at its Kitakami plant on Friday and has started shipping evaluation samples to AI data‑center operators.
- The new chips, developed with SanDisk, deliver about 59% more storage per chip than Kioxia’s prior flagship 8th‑generation device and use wafer‑bonding techniques that analysts say give the firm a multi‑year performance and power lead.
- The company reports that much of its 2026 NAND and SSD output is already sold out and it plans to double NAND capacity by 2029 using expansions at Yokkaichi and Kitakami.
- Kioxia’s stock has been highly volatile: the share price has climbed more than sevenfold this year to a market value above $250 billion but plunged as much as 12% on June 26 during a wider AI‑stock selloff.
- The move shifts focus in the AI supply chain toward high‑capacity flash for inference workloads, yet customers typically test samples for months before placing volume orders, so broad changes to supply and prices could lag the production ramp.