Kioxia and Sandisk announced on August 27, 2026 that they plan to invest more than $31 billion — roughly 5 trillion yen — in their Japanese flash memory operations through 2032, extending one of the semiconductor industry's longest-running joint ventures deep into the AI decade.
Yokkaichi and Kitakami take the lion's share
The capital is earmarked for continued buildout at the Yokkaichi Plant in Mie Prefecture and the Kitakami Plant operated by Kioxia Iwate, alongside supporting infrastructure and technology development. Kioxia said each partner has committed to "meaningful, multi-year bit growth" so the venture can keep pace with AI-driven demand for high-capacity, high-performance and power-efficient NAND.
A 25-year partnership doubles down
Kioxia and Sandisk have already sunk more than $50 billion into their Japanese fab footprint over the past 25 years. In January the two extended their Yokkaichi joint venture framework through December 2034, and today's announcement puts hard capital behind that renewal. Kioxia president and CEO Hiroo Ota called the pledge a signal of the company's "strong commitment to contributing to the advancement of an AI-driven society," while Sandisk chairman and CEO David Goeckeler framed it as "a premier example of U.S.-Japan economic collaboration."
Tied to Tokyo's semiconductor strategy
The announcement is contingent on continued government support and slots into the Takaichi administration's push to secure advanced manufacturing at home. Analysts read the size and multi-year cadence — closer to $4 billion per year on average — as a hedge against a NAND supply crunch already visible in Sandisk's $93.9 billion hyperscaler contract book, the two companies' recent 332-layer BiCS10 QLC NAND rollout, and Japan's parallel efforts around TSMC's record 2027 capex.
Reporting based on coverage from Kioxia, Sandisk, and Bloomberg.