FUJIFILM Corporation will invest approximately 10 billion yen at its Kanagawa Factory, Odawara Site, to increase production capacity for data storage magnetic tape by approximately five times. The investment will strengthen Fujifilm's stable supply system for magnetic tape in response to growing data archiving demand accompanying the spread of generative AI. It will be made from fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2028 and will be used to expand manufacturing facilities and increase personnel to strengthen the production structure.
The rapid spread of generative AI and cloud services is driving exponential growth in the volume of data generated worldwide. Establishing environments in which the enormous amounts of data accumulated through AI training and inference, as well as the digitalization of business activities, can be stored and utilized securely and efficiently is becoming increasingly important to the digital society. Magnetic tape can store large volumes of data over long periods at low cost and can be physically isolated from networks. Its use is expanding among major cloud service providers and data center operators. Given the sophistication of cyberattacks, magnetic tape is also attracting attention as a means of protecting data from threats such as ransomware.
Fujifilm began researching magnetic tape in the 1950s and has since expanded its business in response to changing storage needs. Since launching "FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium1" in 2000, the company has improved tape performance through its proprietary materials and precision coating technologies. In 2011, Fujifilm became the first company in the world to commercialize Barium Ferrite (Ba Fe) magnetic particles for magnetic tape. In 2025, it launched the latest-generation "FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium10," which uses proprietary "fine hybrid magnetic particles" combining Ba Fe and Strontium Ferrite (Sr Fe) technologies. Fujifilm currently holds the top global share of the magnetic tape market.
The investment will primarily expand production of Ultrium10 tape and is the largest investment Fujifilm has made to date in dedicated LTO tape facilities. Fujifilm says it will better meet growing data archiving demand while ensuring a more stable supply to customers, supporting long-term storage of data as generative AI and cloud services expand.
Source: TechPowerUp News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing