September 12, 2025 /SemiMedia/ — Japan’s Kioxia Corp said it aims to commercialize AI-optimized solid state drives (SSDs) by 2027, targeting data read speeds nearly 100 times faster than conventional products. The new drives are being co-developed with Nvidia for servers handling generative AI workloads and are designed to partly substitute for high bandwidth memory (HBM) as GPU memory expanders.

The company plans to deliver the first samples in the second half of 2026, following specifications proposed by Nvidia. Kioxia projects that by 2029, roughly half of global NAND output will be absorbed by AI-related industries, underscoring the sector’s growing dominance in the memory market.

Industry sources said Nvidia’s performance target for the AI SSD is 200 million IOPS. Kioxia intends to achieve this benchmark by deploying dual-drive configurations, while also ensuring compliance with the upcoming PCIe 7.0 standard, one generation ahead of today’s mainstream solutions.

Kioxia’s move highlights the shifting role of storage in the AI era. As generative AI and high-performance computing proliferate, storage solutions are no longer peripheral components but key enablers of system performance. The AI SSD initiative signals Kioxia’s bid to position itself as a central player in next-generation computing architectures.