Our history

In 1987, John Tu and David Sun founded Kingston to address a severe shortage of surface-mount memory chips. They designed a revolutionary new Single In-Line Memory Module (SIMM) using older components that were already available.

The duo:

Used their engineering skills to design a new way of making a memory module
Supplied a working solution while the original surface mount was allocated
Offered an affordable alternative solution
Designed a method which helps the environment in repurposing existing chips

This innovative new Single In-Line Memory Module (SIMM) product fulfilled existing market demand and would go on to redefine industry standards for years to come.

Since then, Kingston has grown to become a world leader in memory, storage and technology solutions, achieving new milestones in the tech industry almost every year.

2022

Kingston celebrates 35 years in business.

Kingston leads channel SSD shipments in 2021 as announced by research company TrendFocus.

Kingston launches record-breaking USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive.

Kingston named top third-party DRAM module supplier in the world for the 19th consecutive year.

2021

Kingston launches its first DDR5 memory modules under the Kingston FURY gaming line.

Kingston announces record 2020 sales revenue of $15B. Kingston’s dedication to support and quality remain solid while supplying tech solutions for the cloud and work-from-home environments. The business & culture continue to thrive behind the Kingston Is With You brand philosophy.

Kingston Partners with NXP® Semiconductors on i.MX 8M Plus Processors.

2020

Kingston leads channel SSD shipments in 2019, as announced by research company Trendfocus.

Kingston encrypted high-performance SSDs named winners in 2020 GOVIES awards in the Encryption, Cyber Defence Solutions and Storage categories.

Security Today announces Kingston SSD as the New Product of the Year winner in its Cyber Defence Solutions category.

OC Business Journal awards John Tu and David Sun Business People of the Year.

2019

Gartner Research ranks Kingston among the top 10 semiconductor chip buyers in the world.

Kingston receives 2 GOVIES security awards for IronKey & Kingston encrypted USB drives.

Cyber Defense names Kingston winner of four awards for IronKey & Kingston encrypted USB drives.

OC Business Journal ranks Kingston as one of the best places to work in Orange County, California.

2016

Kingston acquires the USB technology and assets of IronKey from Imation, making Kingston the largest supplier of encrypted USB drives in the world.

2015

Kingston receives the Green Dot Award. This is the world’s most prestigious green award that recognises outstanding products and services which are manufactured and delivered in an environmentally friendly manner.

Kingston receives the Red Dot Award for design, quality & innovation. This international design competition focuses on product design, communication design and design concepts.

2013

Kingston ships the world's largest USB Flash drive at 1TB; and four years later the first 2TB.

Kingston’s HyperX brand launches gaming headsets, eventually becoming a leader in the gaming headset market.

Kingston launches the MobileLite wireless reader line of storage products for tablets and smartphones, further adding mobility to computing.

2011

Kingston launches the Wi-Drive wireless portable storage line, offering users more computing mobility.

OC Business Journal awards John Tu and David Sun Business People of the Year.

2010

Kingston Solutions, Inc. (KSI) was formed to manufacture embedded memory products (single-chip storage and controller solutions) for lighter and thinner consumer devices such as smartphones, tablets and wearables.

2006

Kingston launches its first fully secure USB drive with 100 privacy and 128-bit hardware-based encryption and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.

Intel gives Kingston the Outstanding Supplier Award for exceptional support, quality and timely delivery of FB-DIMM products.

Kingston leads Orange County’s Top Minority-Owned Businesses with posted YOY gain in revenue.

2005

Kingston is granted a US patent on a best-in-class, first-to-market, dynamic burn-in tester. This ensures the utmost reliability in server memory DRAM.

Kingston opens the world’s largest memory module manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China.

2004

AMD recognises Kingston for outstanding partner contributions to Athlon 64 and Opteron launches.

2003

Kingston forms the Kingston Digital (KDI) division to focus on the growing need for flash-based solutions.

Kingston is honoured for “Excellence in Fairness” by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Dell presents Kingston with the 'Diverse Supplier Award for Best Overall Performance' for outstanding partnership.

2002

Kingston forms the gaming division of HyperX. The initial products focus on high-performance memory modules.

Kingston introduces a new patented EPOC stacking technology.

Kingston launches a patented industry-leading memory tester, beginning a long tradition of creating unique high-end memory testers to ensure quality products.

Kingston launches the “Green Initiative” for module manufacturing, making it one of the first technology companies to recognise the need for environmentally friendly products.

Computer Trade Shopper awards Kingston as Memory Manufacturer of the Year in the United Kingdom.

2001

Kingston launches its first line of USB drives as an up-and-coming storage solution to replace floppy drives.

2000

Payton Technology Inc. is established to help manage Kingston’s memory supply chain as well as supply back-end wafer processing services, thus making the company more efficient in delivering memory solutions to its rapidly expanding client base.

Advanced Validation Labs, Inc. (AVL) is launched as an independent memory testing and validation lab. Its "one-stop shop" services cover component-level to module testing to support the entire memory industry.

Kingston's Storage Products Division (SPD) is established as a new company called StorCase™ Technology, Inc.

1999

John Tu and David Sun buy back the eighty per cent of Kingston owned by Softbank for $450 million.

Kingston launches flash memory cards used in cameras and electronic devices.

Kingston introduces ValueRam™, a high-quality low-cost memory focusing on white box solutions for system integrators.

1998

Kingston makes Fortune Magazine's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Kingston goes on to win this award for four more consecutive years.

1997

Kingston expands its global footprint as it establishes a headquarters for Asia-Pacific operations including a manufacturing facility and offices in Taiwan.

Kingston also opens its first office to serve South American customers in Brazil. Its European headquarters are established in the United Kingdom and a manufacturing/logistics facility is opened in Dublin, Ireland.

Kingston Technology Services Division (KTSD) is formed to exclusively work and manufacture memory solutions directly for top-tier OEM customers.

1996

Kingston and Toshiba co-market memory upgrades for Toshiba PCs. This was the first time that a PC OEM and a memory manufacturer teamed up to create a co-branded module.

In August, Softbank® Corporation of Japan acquires eighty per cent of Kingston for a total of $1.5 billion.

1995

Kingston opens its first European branch in Munich, Germany, to provide technical support and marketing capabilities for its European distributors and customers.

World Trade Center Association of Orange County awards Kingston Exporter of the Year.

Kingston joins the billion-dollar club as the company’s sales exceed $1.3 billion. Ads run in the Wall Street Journal, Orange County Register and LA Times with the headline “Thanks a Billion!” and a listing of all Kingston employees’ names; ads also run thanking the suppliers and distributors in trade publications and the Wall Street Journal.

1994

Kingston introduces DataTraveler and DataPak portable products.

Kingston achieves the rare feat of becoming ISO 9000 certified on its first assessment attempt.

1993

Kingston expands into networking and storage product lines.

1990

Kingston branches out into its first non-memory product line: processor upgrades.

1989

Kingston differentiates itself from its competitors with a hundred per cent individual product testing, resulting in quality assurance and a leadership position in the market.

1988

Kingston offers an unheard-of lifetime warranty for its DRAM memory products.

1987

Engineers John Tu and David Sun start Kingston Technology in Orange County, California. Their first product was a newly designed revolutionary memory module for computers.