As 2022 comes to a close, KIOXIA America, Inc. reflects on the year-long celebration of the 35^th anniversary of the company’s invention of NAND flash memory. Spotlighting this extraordinary technology that has changed how we live, work and play, the anniversary was celebrated industry wide. Looking forward, KIOXIA expects flash memory to continue on this upward trajectory. The cutting-edge systems and products of tomorrow will have flash memory at their core, allowing the remarkable journey of NAND flash memory to continue far into the future.

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KIOXIA invented NAND flash memory 35 years ago (Graphic: Business Wire)

Since its creation in 1987, NAND flash memory has become a fundamental technology that is used in a virtually endless array of systems and devices. Flash memory has forever changed our lives, fueling innovation in the development of products for everyone from consumers to the enterprise.

Look at How Far We’ve Come

In the 1990s, NAND flash adoption picked up speed when manufacturers of digital telephone answering machines, barcode readers, and digital cameras began recognizing that it was an excellent storage technology for their products. Today, NAND flash is enabling the mobility of content - as well as thin and light form factors - through applications that range from smartphones and tablets to automotive, smart homes, cloud computing, gaming, wearables, industrial automation and more.

“When KIOXIA invented flash memory, and even for several years after the invention, flash memory was a solution looking for a problem,” said Scott Nelson, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for KIOXIA America, Inc. “Fast forward 35 years later, and NAND flash memory is approaching a $70B market¹. The scalability of flash memory has proven to be a long-lasting, disruptive force – and the applications it enables will only continue to grow in number and in capabilities.”

Flash memory has come a long way over a remarkably short time span. The technology has notched impressive advancements in price per gigabyte ($10,000 in the 1990s to about a dime today—a 100,000-time decrease)², and an equally imposing increase in die density (4 megabits in the 1990s to 1.33 terabits today)².

Industry Voices

In an effort to share opinions and insights from leaders in the industry, KIOXIA tapped some of the industry’s most respected and influential thought leaders, asking them to weigh-in on the impact that flash memory has had on the industry and their personal lives. Insights, predictions, reflections and opinions related to the importance of this game-changing technology were shared, including thoughts on key applications and the pervasiveness of flash memory.

Tipping Our Hats to Flash Memory

Launched in February of this year, the KIOXIA 35^th anniversary campaign gave the industry an opportunity to celebrate. The annual Flash Memory Summit paid homage to the anniversary of the invention of this transformative technology, and the industry came out in force to celebrate.

The KIOXIA campaign included a series of fun videos designed to remind us all how different our lives would be without flash memory. The latest video in the series launched today and takes a look at what our lives might be like without mobile devices. To view the new video – and all of the videos in this series – please visit the company’s 35^th anniversary website. The Industry Voices, applications, infographics, company videos and much more can be accessed at this link as well.

For more information, please visit www.kioxia.com and follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About KIOXIA America, Inc.

KIOXIA America, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of KIOXIA Corporation, a leading worldwide supplier of flash memory and solid state drives (SSDs). From the invention of flash memory to today’s breakthrough BiCS FLASH™ 3D flash memory technology, KIOXIA continues to pioneer innovative memory, SSD and software solutions that enrich people's lives and expand society's horizons. The company's innovative BiCS FLASH™ 3D flash memory technology is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, SSDs, automotive, and data centers.

© 2022 KIOXIA America, Inc. All rights reserved. Information in this press release, including product pricing and specifications, content of services, and contact information is current and believed to be accurate on the date of the announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice.

Notes

[1] Forward Insights 3Q2021

[2] Based on KIOXIA internal research

In every mention of a KIOXIA product: Product density is identified based on the density of memory chip(s) within the Product, not the amount of memory capacity available for data storage by the end user. Consumer-usable capacity will be less due to overhead data areas, formatting, bad blocks, and other constraints, and may also vary based on the host device and application. For details, please refer to applicable product specifications. The definition of 1KB = 2^10 bytes = 1,024 bytes. The definition of 1Gb = 2^30 bits = 1,073,741,824 bits. The definition of 1GB = 2^30 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes. 1Tb = 2^40 bits = 1,099,511,627,776 bits.

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