Kioxia, a Japanese NAND flash manufacturer, has dismissed rumors of a semiconductor production partnership with SK Hynix, as mentioned by SK Hynix Chairman Choi Tae-won.
In an interview with Bloomberg News on September 9, Kioxia CEO Hiroo Ota stated that joint production with SK Hynix could violate antitrust laws and would be difficult to reconcile with Kioxia's current collaboration with SanDisk.
This response follows Choi's comments in an Asahi Shimbun interview on September 2, where he described joint production with Kioxia as "one option" and praised Kioxia as a company with many strengths. He also indicated that various forms of collaboration, including R&D and supply chain sharing, could be possible.
While Kioxia is currently producing key products in partnership with SanDisk, Choi's remarks opened the door to potential new collaborations with SK Hynix. He noted, "If SK Hynix is part of Kioxia's future strategy, I am open to being a partner at any time."
Ota also commented on the possibility of a tripartite collaboration among Kioxia, SK Hynix, and SanDisk, stating, "It is not as simple as saying, 'Let’s produce together.' I cannot speculate on why he made those comments."
SK Hynix became Kioxia's largest shareholder last month, leading to ongoing discussions about potential collaboration. Choi, who has advocated for economic cooperation between South Korea and Japan, has raised interest in the feasibility of joint production with Kioxia. Kioxia sources some of the DRAM used in its solid-state drives (SSDs) from SK Hynix.
However, Bloomberg reported that an SK Hynix executive indicated that Choi's comments about joint production were made in a general context.
The discussion of joint production arises amid a global shortage of memory supplies driven by the surge in artificial intelligence (AI) demand. Kioxia, the world's third-largest NAND flash manufacturer, saw its average NAND sales price rise by 70% in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter, and its stock price has surged 18-fold over the past year, making it the top company by market capitalization on the Japanese stock market in June.
In response to concerns that rising prices could dampen investment enthusiasm in the AI sector, Ota instructed his sales team not to significantly increase prices. He emphasized the need for alternative solutions to address the soaring prices of memory semiconductors, stating, "(NAND) prices have already risen sufficiently. If we excessively raise prices, we will ultimately harm our own market."
Additionally, Ota expressed his commitment to focusing on developing technological capabilities that companies seek, rather than merely pursuing market share, in anticipation of competition from China's largest memory semiconductor company, YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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