Kioxia Holdings Chief Executive Officer Hiroo Ota rejected the likelihood of deeper manufacturing ties with SK Hynix, saying the companies are not discussing joint production. His comments come as AI infrastructure demand drives severe memory shortages, multiyear supply contracts and sharp NAND price increases. Kioxia and Sandisk plan to spend more than ¥5 trillion ($33 billion) expanding jointly owned facilities in Japan, while Kioxia’s average NAND price rose 70% in the June quarter after more than doubling in the previous quarter. Ota said Kioxia is prioritizing price stability rather than another sharp increase to avoid damaging AI investment and demand. Separately, Apple is reportedly seeking a three-to-five-year NAND supply agreement with Kioxia, potentially without a fixed price ceiling, although Apple has not confirmed the arrangement.