External factors: A man walks past Kioxia’s semiconductor plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. Where the firm could find growth is in the current global artificial intelligence boom, as flash memory is today used extensively in storage devices. — Bloomberg
TOKYO: Kioxia Holdings Corp was supposed to be an irresistible debutant in a hot Japanese market, heralding the rise of a homegrown chipmaker with big backers and a storied pedigree. It may get a cooler reception than anticipated.
The pioneer in NAND flash memory – chips that store information in smartphones and data centre servers – is listing today after years of complex and wide-ranging negotiations that involved Bain Capital, SK Inc, Western Digital Corp and the Japanese government.
