On August 1, memory chip manufacturer Kioxia announced that its Fab 2 (K2) facility in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, was completed in July. K2 is Kioxia’s second NAND flash manufacturing plant in Kitakami, and its completion marks a significant step forward in the company’s efforts to respond to the recovering market demand.

 Kioxia plans to begin operations at the K2 facility in the fall of 2025, closely monitoring NAND flash market trends and making phased capital investments accordingly.

Although NAND Flash production at the K2 plant won’t start until 2025, Kioxia has already completed an adjacent administrative building. Some administrative and engineering departments are scheduled to move in starting November 2024 to oversee the operations of Fab 2's production facilities. Notably, part of the investment for Fab 2 was subsidized by the Japanese government, as approved in a plan from February 2024.

Earlier this year, Kioxia and Western Digital announced that their joint manufacturing plants in Yokkaichi and Kitakami had received government subsidies amounting to 150 billion yen. These funds will support the production of the latest generation of 3D NAND and next-generation advanced node processes. This marks the second time Kioxia and Western Digital’s joint venture has received Japanese government subsidies, with the Yokkaichi plant having received 92.9 billion yen in subsidies back in 2022.

Kioxia emphasized its commitment to seizing opportunities in the NAND flash market to meet the growing demand from AI applications and data centers. The company plans to make capital investments aligned with market trends at the right time, demonstrating its strong resolve to drive technological innovation and market expansion.