Micron and Intel Will Part Ways After Finishing Development of 96-layer 3D-NAND Flash, and Will Seek Their Respective Partners, Says TrendForce

Micron and Intel announced on January 8, 2018 that they will discontinue their partnership on NAND Flash development after completing the development of the third generation of 3D-NAND Flash. Micron and Intel are currently developing the second generation (64-layer), and the third generation is expected to reach 96-layer. This means that, for development of products greater than 96-layer, the two will part ways formally. This decision will not bring significant impact in near term on their businesses in terms of manufacturing process technology improvements and product planning. They will also have more opportunities to seek new partners after parting ways. According to DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce, Intel and Tsinghua Unigroup are now discussing over further collaboration in product offerings and sales.

Cooperation between Intel and Tsinghua Unigroup in storage applications can help UNIC improve its channel competitiveness

DRAMeXchange points out that the Chinese market has been a major focus for Intel, who has been actively seeking different opportunities of cooperation and joint venture for various product lines, including CPU, modem and memory products. In addition, Intel has been expanding its production capacity in China, and its fab in Dalian has entered production of 3D-NAND Flash. The fab’s capacity is expected to rise continuously. Recently, Intel and UNIC Memory Technology, the storage business under Tsinghua Unigroup, are now discussing on long term cooperation, says DRAMeXchange. Under the agreement, UNIC will be responsible for products testing, packaging and selling based on NAND wafers provided by Intel.

Tsinghua Unigroup has deployed a roadmap in flash memory industry. Yangtze Memory Technologies Company (YMTC), another company under Tsinghua Unigroup, will be responsible for flash memory products development, design and production, while UNIC will be responsible for selling. But due to the fact that the products designed by YMTC are still 32-layer-based, Intel will provide wafer for flash memory products to UNIC monthly before YMTC manages to formally offer products of 64-layer or greater. With the Intel’s NAND wafers, UNIC will be able to produce UFS, eMMC, and other SSD products.

This solution will not only make UNIC more competitive in channel sales, but also increase the presence of the brand in market. Although YMTC and UNIC cannot immediately cut into the middle- and high-end smartphone markets or become competitive in client SSD sector, their products are likely to be adopted by Chromebooks or other consumer electronics, which may influence the overall prices trend of NAND flash in the future.