Samsung Electronics Co., is set to begin mass production of 290-layer ninth-generation vertical (V9) NAND chips later this month to lead rivals in the industry’s transition to high-stacking high-density flash memory.

The South Korean chipmaker also plans to unveil 430-layer NAND chips next year as demand for high-performance and large storage devices grows in the artificial intelligence era, industry sources said on Thursday.

The V9 NAND is a cutting-edge product that succeeds Samsung’s current flagship 236-layer V8 flash products, targeting large-scale enterprise servers and AI and cloud devices.

What’s significant with the V9 NAND is that Samsung utilizes its double-stack technology, sources said.