铠侠展示AI用高速NAND/CXL模块，试图以NAND补充部分DRAM需求

TOKYO -- Memory chip maker Kioxia Holdings on Thursday outlined plans to use enhanced NAND flash memory to offer an alternative to DRAM, thereby helping the Japanese company to strengthen ties with major U.S. technology firms and fend off growing competition from Chinese rivals.
"Demand for flash memory is increasing at an unprecedented pace," said Katsuki Matsudera, who oversees memory technology at Kioxia.
At the briefing, the company showcased its CXL (Compute Express Link) module, a component designed for artificial intelligence workloads. The product improves NAND processing speeds and is now undergoing customer evaluations.
AI servers are equipped with multiple types of memory. DRAM, which is used for temporary data storage, can read data faster than NAND and works with central processing units to handle computing tasks.
But it is difficult to expand DRAM capacity, making it hard to keep pace with growing AI demand. It is also more expensive than NAND, the memory used for long-term storage, slowing the spread of AI data centers.
Kioxia's CXL module is intended to replace some DRAM demand. By combining high-speed NAND with a controller component, the module reduces data-read latency to less than one-tenth that of conventional NAND products.
The faster data access brings performance close to that of DRAM. Replacing part of a system's DRAM with CXL modules can double memory capacity and improve performance by 30%, according to Kioxia.
The company also highlighted new AI-focused products in the solid-state drive (SSD) segment. It plans to begin sampling an SSD with enhanced read-and-write performance in 2028.
The SSD is designed to connect to graphics processing units made by Nvidia, which are essential components in AI servers. High-bandwidth memory (HMB), which stacks multiple DRAM chips, has traditionally been used as the memory connected to GPUs, but Kioxia believes SSDs can complement HBM.
The memory market is growing rapidly as AI applications evolve from training models to running inference to generate answers. The global market is projected to reach $837.3 billion in 2026, up 3.8-fold from the previous year, according to U.S. research firm Gartner.
Kioxia specializes in NAND memory. Rivals such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as well as U.S.-based Micron Technology, produce both NAND and DRAM. Kioxia's narrower product lineup leaves the company more exposed to changes in market conditions.
By establishing an alternative to DRAM, Kioxia aims to stabilize its earnings base by capturing a share of DRAM demand, despite its reliance on NAND products.
Kioxia also has a relatively weak presence among server clients. The company ranked fourth in the enterprise SSD market, including AI servers, with an 11.3% share in the April-June quarter, according to Taiwanese market research firm TrendForce.
Kioxia could deepen its ties with major technology firms if its new products gain traction, making it more likely to win preferred supplier status from companies such as Nvidia. That would also strengthen its position against China's Yangtze Memory Technologies, which remains less competitive in the high-performance, high-value server segment.