Toshiba is a 144-year old Japanese company with a heritage in many industries. As conglomerates tend to do over time the company spun-out its memory business that became Toshiba Memory after being sold to Bain Capital during a financial crunch in Q2 2018. Since Toshiba Memory is no longer owned by Toshiba, the name had to change and industry observers have been wondering what it would be. Now we have the answer, Kioxia.
Kioxia is the New Name for Toshiba Memory
If you were wondering how to pronounce Kioxia, the company says “kee-ox-ee-uh.” That may not sound like a name you are familiar with, so here is the company’s breakdown of the meaning:
Kioxia is a combination of the Japanese word kioku meaning “memory” and the Greek word axia meaning “value.” Merging “memory” with “value,” Kioxia represents the company’s mission to uplift the world with “memory,” which forms the foundation of the company’s vision. (Source: Toshiba Memory America, soon Kioxia America)
Toshiba is pulling from its Japanese heritage with the first part of the name. It is also giving a nod to a traditionally important market, Greece, by using a Greek word for inspiration.
Final Words
For many of our readers, this change will have absolutely no impact. The Toshiba RM5 in this article’s cover image will be largely the same product. External and firmware labeling will change on new drives which may have some impact on scripts. Otherwise, there will be little change.
For others, such as partners and VARs, the impact will be greater. Renaming products means changes to an array of back-end systems and quoting tools. A larger challenge is that customers need to be educated that the Kioxia of the future is the Toshiba Memory of the past. Hopefully this article can start to help that education process.
