Kioxia is strengthening its presence as demand for SSDs expands. As SSDs are increasingly used to complement HBM amid growth in the AI market, the report examines the strengths of Japanese companies and the areas in which they may gain a competitive edge going forward.
Demand for Kioxia's SSDs is rising, and their use in applications that complement HBM in conjunction with NVIDIA GPUs is expanding. As growth in the AI market increases data volumes, SSD use is expected to rise against a backdrop of insufficient memory capacity and higher costs, and Kioxia's momentum could continue for some time.
The semiconductor device market as a whole is expected to expand, but Japanese companies' market share is trending lower. The market is forecast to reach approximately $1.9136 trillion in 2027, while Japanese companies' market share had declined to around 8% as of 2024. At the same time, Japanese companies retain strengths in some areas, including discrete semiconductors, optoelectronics and micro semiconductors.
The areas in which Japanese companies retain an advantage in the semiconductor device market are discrete semiconductors, optoelectronics and micro semiconductors. In particular, Renesas Electronics accounts for 28% of the global MCU market. High durability and a commitment to long-term supply are cited as strengths of Japanese companies.
Optoelectronic fusion and glass interposers are identified as areas in which Japan may gain a competitive edge. Optoelectronic fusion is a technology that increases data-transmission capacity and speed while reducing power consumption in data centers. Glass interposers are being researched as components offering a strong balance between cost and performance. These are regarded as areas where Japanese companies may be able to apply their technological capabilities.