Fujifilm plans 10 billion yen tape expansion, targeting fivefold capacity
Fujifilm will spend about 10 billion yen to raise magnetic tape capacity fivefold versus fiscal 2025 at its Odawara site, citing AI-driven archiving demand.
The story in focus
Fujifilm said Thursday it will invest roughly 10 billion yen, about $63 million, to raise magnetic tape production capacity fivefold against fiscal 2025 levels at its Kanagawa Factory's Odawara site. The project runs from fiscal 2026 through 2028 and focuses mainly on LTO Ultrium10 tape, which the company links to generative AI data growth.
- Investment is about 10 billion yen, or roughly $63 million, per Fujifilm's announcement reported by Ars Technica
- Capacity target is fivefold fiscal 2025 production levels
- Spending covers fiscal 2026 through 2028, funding manufacturing expansion and additional personnel
- Output will focus primarily on FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium10 tape
- Fujifilm cites generative AI data growth and cloud and data center archiving demand
What Fujifilm announced
Fujifilm said in a Thursday announcement that it will invest roughly 10 billion yen, about $63 million, to increase magnetic tape production capacity fivefold compared with fiscal 2025 levels. The company described the Kanagawa Factory's Odawara site project as its largest investment to date in dedicated LTO tape facilities.
The program spans fiscal 2026 through 2028 and funds manufacturing expansion and additional personnel, primarily to produce the latest-generation FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium10 tape. Fujifilm released that generation in 2025, describing it as the first storage product in the medium to use fine hybrid magnetic particles combining barium ferrite and strontium ferrite technology.
Why tape demand is rising
Fujifilm attributes the increase in archiving demand to the spread of generative AI, which it says is producing exponential growth in data needs worldwide. The company says major cloud service and data center operators have been expanding tape use because it stores large data volumes at relatively low cost.
Fujifilm also highlights tape's air-gap capability: cartridges can be disconnected and stored in a drawer, vault or separate facility. The company says that, given the sophistication of cyberattacks, tape is drawing more attention as a way to protect data from threats such as ransomware.
Fujifilm's history with magnetic tape as a data storage medium dates to the 1950s. It released its first LTO Ultrium storage tape in 2000 and was first to commercially produce tape with barium ferrite magnetic particles in 2011. The fivefold figure is measured against fiscal 2025 production levels, and the capacity outcome remains a planned target.
How much is Fujifilm investing in magnetic tape capacity and when does the project run?
Fujifilm plans to invest roughly 10 billion yen, about $63 million, to expand tape production fivefold versus fiscal 2025 levels at its Odawara site, with the project running from fiscal 2026 through 2028.
Sources & further reading
Help keep the record accurate. Send a correction.
