Kioxia and Sandisk announced the start of operation at the Fab2 (K2), a state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication facility, at the Kitakami Plant in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Fab2 has the capability to produce eighth-generation, 218-layer 3D flash memory, featuring the companies’ revolutionary CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) technology, and future advanced 3D flash memory nodes to meet growing demand for storage driven by AI. 

Production capacity at Fab2 will ramp up in stages over time, in line with market trends, with meaningful output expected to begin in the first half of 2026.

The Fab2 facility has an earthquake-absorbing architectural structure and a design that utilizes state-of-the-art energy saving manufacturing equipment. The facility uses artificial intelligence for enhanced production efficiencies and employs a space-efficient facility design that enlarges the space available for manufacturing equipment in its clean rooms. A portion of investment for Fab2 is subsidized by the Japanese government according to the plan approved in February 2024.