SanDisk expands in northern Israel as AI boom fuels stock surge
The chipmaker is relocating 120 employees to a new campus in the North High-Tech Park in Bar-Lev, while its shares have climbed nearly 1,000% over the past 12 months. The park is expanding as it seeks to grow its workforce from more than 1,000 to over 5,000.
SanDisk, the American flash memory company, is relocating its northern development center from Tefen to a new campus in the North High-Tech Park in Bar-Lev. Approximately 120 employees will move to the new 1,250-square-meter facility. The company’s other 600 employees in Israel are based at its development center in Kfar Saba.
SanDisk, which specializes in flash memory, trades on Nasdaq with a market capitalization of approximately $200 billion. Its shares have surged 400% since the beginning of the year and nearly 1,000% over the past 12 months, driven by strong demand for NAND memory, a key component in the storage infrastructure used by AI systems.
Founded in the 1980s by Israeli entrepreneur Eli Harari, SanDisk acquired Dov Moran’s M-Systems about two decades ago. The acquisition laid the groundwork for the company’s development center in Kfar Saba. Boaz Greenberg heads SanDisk Israel.
The North High-Tech Park currently hosts 35 international technology companies and startups, employing more than 1,000 people. Construction has recently begun on the park’s third building, part of a planned complex of eight buildings covering approximately 90,000 square meters. Once all phases are complete, the park is expected to accommodate more than 5,000 employees.
Companies already operating in the park include German technology company Zeiss and American company Next Power.
“The North High-Tech Park is a strategic asset and a significant growth engine for the North and for the entire Israeli economy. When a company at the forefront of global technology, one that is setting new records on Wall Street, chooses the Galilee as a hub for growth, it sends a clear message to the entire industry regarding the quality of the human capital and the immense potential of this region,” said YaelLavie, co-founder and chair of the North High-Tech Park.
