With subtle changes in the global storage market demand pattern, the joint NAND flash memory camp of Japan and the United States is quietly gaining momentum. According to multiple sources, the capital expenditure plan of the technology and manufacturing alliance formed by Kioxia and SanDisk for the year 2026 has seen a significant increase, with a growth rate of up to 40% compared to the same period last year. Behind this decision is the fact that South Korea's storage giants, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, are currently allocating a large amount of investment resources to the capacity expansion of 1C nanometer-scale DRAM technology, resulting in a relatively slower pace of investment in the NAND field.
According to data disclosed by ComputerBase, a well-known German technology media outlet, the joint venture factory between Kioxia and SanDisk in Japan is accelerating equipment introduction and clean room expansion, aiming directly at the mass production of higher-layer 3D NAND flash memory. This increased investment is seen as a key move by the alliance to narrow the technological gap with market leaders and regain pricing initiative in global NAND supply. Industry analysts point out that this move takes advantage of the window of opportunity for major manufacturers in terms of NAND capital expenditure, and is expected to form effective production capacity from the second half of 2026 to early 2027, changing the current supply landscape dominated by a few manufacturers.
The global NAND flash memory market is currently undergoing structural adjustments. On the one hand, the demand for high-bandwidth memory for AI training and inference has crowded out some storage investments. On the other hand, the installed capacity of consumer electronics and enterprise-level SSDs continues to climb, creating long-term growth potential for NAND. The joint action of Kioxia and SanDisk not only reflects the strategic determination of the Japan-US semiconductor alliance in the field of non-volatile memory, but may also trigger a new round of industry investment competition, with profound implications for subsequent flash memory price trends and supply chain negotiations.
