TOKYO - The top executive at Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. said Thursday that the company and its partner Sandisk Corp. plan to spend 5 trillion yen ($31 billion) over the next six years to boost memory chip production, as demand linked to the artificial intelligence boom remains strong.
Kioxia President Hiroo Ota said his company's joint venture with the U.S. memory chipmaker will build a new plant at a cost of 1.8 trillion yen at its Kitakami site in Iwate Prefecture and will begin operating the new plant in fiscal 2029.
The venture will also ramp up production capacity at its Yokkaichi plant in Mie Prefecture, Kioxia said in a release.
Accompanied by Sandisk Chairman and CEO David Goeckeler, Ota told Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about the plan during a visit to her office in Tokyo.
At the outset of their meeting, Goeckeler said the newly announced investments are "creating new economic opportunities for the people of Japan, particularly in the Iwate and Mie prefectures."
Takaichi welcomed them as "very encouraging" and said the government "strongly welcomes them."
The semiconductor industry is among 17 strategic fields to promote investments under her government's growth strategy.
Ota expressed expectations that the government will continue to provide support for chip production.
Kioxia and Sandisk are major producers of NAND flash memory chips used in computers, smartphones and other digital devices.
The Japanese chipmaker was spun off from Toshiba Corp. in 2017 and renamed in 2019. It was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2024 and has since grown to vie for the top spot in market capitalization with Toyota Motor Corp.
