History (1999): Partnership Between SanDisk and Toshiba

Today’s rivals are tomorrow’s buddies. SanDisk and Toshiba have entered into a long-term strategic partnership to develop and manufacture jointly 512MB and 1GB NAND flash memory chips.

This agreement should lead to the creation of a 50%-50% joint venture manufacturing company with projected sales of $1 billion by 2002.

For the new high-capacity product, each company will contribute substantial financial support and certain technologies: SanDisk’s MLC flash technology, Toshiba’s .16μ and .13μ NAND flash memory technology.

The new company will first use Toshiba’s fab in Yokkaichi, Japan, then another plant belonging to Dominion Semiconductor LLC, a Toshiba group company located in Virginia.

The brawling days of NOR and NAND seem over, and the rivalry between CompactFlash and SmartMedia is being downplayed.

This new alliance between competitors should allow for increased production for a market that has had a hard time keeping up with strong demand (for digital cameras, cellular phones, MP3 players, etc.).

But won’t it also be a first step towards cooperation in order to stem Sony more effectively, which is the third big shot in the flash world, with its Memory Stick, enjoying major Japanese support from Fujitsu, Aiwa (a Sony subsidiary), Sanyo, Pioneer and Kenwood?

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 142 on November 1999 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.