From the Business Journals

Chipmaker Intel’s work in the non-volatile memory space is about to accelerate with a major factory investment.
The company could invest up to $5.5 billion in its manufacturing facility in Dalian, China to build a new memory product based on its 3D NAND technology developed with Micron. The two companies announced this new technology over the summer which promises to be 1,000 times faster and offer other advantages over current non-volatile memory technology, the main system that stores your information locally in electronics like computers and smartphones.
Intel Corp. announced a new technology Tuesday that could significantly speed up memory in electronics.

INTEL CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

In its most recent quarter, the company highlighted the performance of its memory business along with the company’s bright spots of data center and Internet of Things products. CEO Brian Krzanich noted the excitement in the industry around the new 3D NAND technology.

“It will enable memory-intense applications at faster rates and lower cost,” he told analysts.
Intel is working to diversify its business beyond its traditional PC market and instead power computing no matter where it might be, whether in chips for data centers, PCs other connected devices. The solid state memory market is tied to its core computing business and part of this strategy, the company said.
The performance of Intel’s memory business isn’t reported separately but is part of the “all other” category in its segment operating results. In the most recent quarter, this category had revenue of $682 million.

The expansion of non-volatile memory manufacturing is part of the company’s strategy to have a multi-sourced supply for customers, according to a blog post by Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager for Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group.
The company expects its first 3D NAND products to begin production in the second half of 2016. The Dalian facility has been operating since 2010 and produces the company’s 65 nanometer products.
“The collaboration with the Dalian government has been and continues to be an excellent partnership, and our team at Intel Dalian has demonstrated amazing results through operational excellence,” Crooke wrote.
3D NAND takes two-dimensional storage and stacks the cells, creating a three-dimensional product which increases capacity and offers higher density with lower cost and better speed and reliability. With non-volatile memory, information can be retrieved even after the device is powered down.

Crooke noted this product could be used by retailers to identify potential fraud patterns faster, or health care researchers could use it to process bigger data sets in real time.
Intel is based in Santa Clara, California, but has 18,600 people working at its facility in Washington County, just outside Portland.


Legal Notice