StoryManufacturing
Kioxia and SanDisk start operating Fab2 at Kitakami, built for AI-driven flash demand
Kioxia and SanDisk opened Fab2 at the Kitakami plant in Iwate, Japan. It first makes 218-layer 8th-generation flash with bonded control logic and is built for later generations, with capacity ramping in stages and meaningful output from the first half of 2026. Japan's government subsidised part of the investment.
- Starts with 8th-generation, 218-layer 3D flash using CBA bonding
- Meaningful output expected from the first half of 2026
- Built with an earthquake-absorbing structure
- Partly funded under a Japanese subsidy plan approved in February 2024