Kioxia Corporation and Western Digital Corporation said their joint venture manufacturing facilities at Yokkaichi and Kitakami plants got the Japanese government’s nod for a subsidy. Accordingly, the approved support may reach up to ¥150 billion.

Moreover, the support will cover facilities that will produce its latest generation 3D flash memory based on innovative wafer bonding technology. It will cover future generation advanced nodes as well.

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The subsidy will be granted under a designated government program aimed at facilitating corporate investment in cutting-edge semiconductor production facilities. In addition, the government program also aims to secure stable production of semiconductors in Japan.

This marks the second time that Kioxia’s and Western Digital’s joint venture manufacturing facilities are receiving this subsidy from the Japanese government. Previously, the joint venture manufacturing facility at Yokkaichi also received approval of up to ¥92.9 billion subsidy from in 2022.

Leveraging an over 20-year joint venture partnership, Kioxia and Western Digital will continue to enhance the development and production capabilities of cutting-edge flash memory at the Yokkaichi and Kitakami plants in Japan. In addition, the two companies will contribute to the development of semiconductor-related industries and talent.

“We appreciate the support of the Japanese government and will continue to produce cutting-edge flash memory, which is indispensable for technologies that underpin the expanding digital transformation of society. With this subsidy, we will continue to contribute to the advancement of the semiconductor industry and the development of local and domestic economies,” said Nobuo Hayasaka, President and CEO of Kioxia.

Meanwhile, David Goeckeler, CEO of Western Digital said, “We thank the Japanese government for their ongoing and unwavering commitment to our joint venture flash memory manufacturing facilities in Japan and our long track record of innovations in the NAND flash industry. This support recognizes the important role of advanced memory and data storage technologies in addressing a diverse and growing set of data-driven applications.”

Kioxia and Western Digital have the longest and most successful joint venture partnership in the semiconductor industry. Thus, creating category-defining products such as the 3D flash memory.