The move by the memory module maker will strengthen its collaboration with Toshiba, the biggest shareholder of Phison. As of January 2008, Toshiba held a 17 per cent stake in Phison.
According to industry sources, any future collaboration between the three companies would see Toshiba and Phison supply NAND flash chips and controller ICs respectively, and Kingston would make products targeting memory card, solid-state drive (SSD), and other markets.
The sources also noted that Kingston remains the biggest client for Toshiba’s NAND flash. In addition, the companies have had a working relationship since Toshiba was a major player in the DRAM industry.