Nikkei Asia reports that the pair joined forces in the past week to launch Saimemory, an entity set to develop prototype DRAM units capable of matching the performance of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), while consuming considerably less power to support AI workloads.
The partnership appears to have been in the works for some time, with The Register unearthing company registration records that show Saimemory was incorporated in December 2024.
Intel brought to market the first commercially available DRAM chip. Market dominance would, however, shift to Japan and later South Korea, with the company exiting the segment in the mid-80s—an “emotional decision,” as then-CEO Andy Grove described it at the time.
That wasn’t the end of Intel’s involvement in memory, however. The company retained its NAND and SSD businesses until selling them to SK hynix in 2021. Optane, its 3D XPoint memory unit, was kept until July 2022, marking Intel’s exit from a market it had helped pioneer.
According to reports, Intel wants back in, enlisting SoftBank to help develop low-power memory units to power AI.
The plan will see Saimemory staff work with Japanese academia to create a prototype unit with a view to mass production viability targeted by 2027, with commercialisation by 2030.
The tech involves stacking DRAM chips in a way that reduces power draw by up to 50% compared to HBM, thanks to more efficient internal wiring. While HBM excels in bandwidth, it’s costly and power-hungry. Saimemory would aim to deliver similar performance with greater energy efficiency.
SoftBank’s reported involvement comes as it wants priority access to the chips, especially for its data centres. The Japanese investment giant is part of the Stargate Project, though it’s unknown whether the reported technology will feature in OpenAI-focused data centres or its own facilities.
The HBM market is currently dominated by the likes of Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron, but AI is causing demand to surge, providing Intel a potentially lucrative spot to disrupt the market and in turn, raise some much-needed cash.
While the chip firm is looking at getting back into the memory market, Intel is looking to divest its network and edge businesses according to recent reports, while its underfire foundry unit was recently marked as safe by CEO Lip-Bu Tan despite suggestions it could be merged with TSMC.
