Fujifilm to Expand Magnetic Tape Production Fivefold Amid AI‑Driven Archiving Demand

Fujifilm announced a roughly 10 billion‑yen ($63 million) investment to increase its magnetic tape production capacity by five times, measured against fiscal year 2025 levels. The expansion, focused on the latest FUJIFILM LTO Ultrium10 tape, will take place at its Kanagawa Factory in Odawara from fiscal years 2026 through 2028 and will involve hiring additional personnel. The company cites the rapid growth of generative AI as a key driver of the rising need for large‑scale data archiving, noting that major cloud service and data‑center operators are turning to tape for its low cost, high capacity, and ability to air‑gap data as a defense against ransomware. Fujifilm’s LTO Ultrium10 is the first tape generation to use a hybrid of barium and strontium ferrite magnetic particles, offering higher storage density than previous generations.