Japan\'s NAND flash maker Kioxia Holdings has begun shipping customer samples of next-generation memory for AI data centres, using advanced facilities at its Kitakami plant in Iwate prefecture. The product raises data processing speed by about 33 percent compared with existing products and improves power efficiency, the company said. Kioxia plans to enter mass production after customer evaluations and will expand output by adding equipment to unused production areas. It may also consider building a third manufacturing unit if demand rises more than expected.