Micron Technology has broken ground on a $9.3 billion facility in Hiroshima, Japan, dedicated to producing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips critical for artificial intelligence accelerators. Partly financed by up to ¥500 billion (~$3.1 billion) from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the plant is a key move in the global scramble to secure advanced memory supply chains. Production is expected to begin around summer 2028, targeting memory for AI systems developed by NVIDIA’s customers.
The investment comes as HBM, made by vertically stacking DRAM dies, becomes an indispensable component for training large language models and AI image generators. With demand far outstripping supply, Micron joins rivals SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics in aggressively expanding output. Counterpoint Research data shows SK Hynix held roughly 57% of the HBM market in late 2025, with Samsung at 22% and Micron at 21%. All three are racing on next-generation products, including HBM4E and HBM5.
Micron’s fiscal Q3 2026 results underscore the opportunity: record revenue of $41.46 billion (a 346% year-over-year surge), gross margins of 84.9%, and operating margins exceeding 78% in its core data center segments. The company recently crossed a $1 trillion market capitalization, its stock climbing about 700% over the past year and 200% in 2026 alone. Wall Street now treats Micron as an AI bellwether, much as it did with NVIDIA during the early AI boom. A recent blowout quarter steadied broader tech markets shaken by AI bubble fears.
Beyond capacity, Micron is inking long-term supply contracts to escape the memory industry’s historical boom-bust cycles. A strategic agreement with Anthropic includes memory architecture design, a multi-year supply deal, and an investment in Anthropic’s Series H financing. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra argues the supply crunch is structural: new fabs take years to build, and next-gen memory is far more complex to manufacture, limiting oversupply risks. The Japan expansion aligns with Micron’s global footprint across the U.S., Singapore, and Taiwan, while giving Japan a critical domestic AI supply link.
