Kioxia unveils PCIe 6.0 CM10 enterprise SSD with 10th‑gen BiCS flash

Japanese memory maker Kioxia announced the CM10 series, its first PCIe 6.0 enterprise SSD aimed at AI‑intensive data‑center workloads. The drive uses 10th‑generation BiCS FLASH memory with 332 stacked TLC layers, delivering up to 92% higher sequential‑read speed and about 85% higher random‑read performance compared with the previous CM9 generation. It supports NVIDIA’s CMX architecture, offers liquid‑cooling cold‑plate options, and includes security features such as self‑encrypting drive (SED) support, FIPS‑140‑3 compliance and quantum‑resistant encryption. Capacities range from 1.6 TB to 1.44 TB, with endurance options of 1 DWPD (read‑intensive) and 3 DWPD (mixed use). The CM10 will be showcased at the Future of Memory and Storage (FMS) event in Santa Clara, California, from 4‑6 August 2026.

Kioxia also reported that mass production of its 3D NAND BiCS 10 chips, fabricated at the Kitakami plant in Iwate, Japan, has begun. The 332‑layer NAND is positioned to narrow the gap with market leaders Samsung and SK Hynix, whose Q1 2026 market shares were 31.6% and 17.6% respectively, while Kioxia held 13.9%. In parallel, the company plans to start volume production of UFS 5.0 storage for AI‑enabled smartphones by the end of the year, promising roughly double the data‑transfer speed of UFS 4.1.