Recently, SoftBank and Intel have jointly developed a new AI-specific memory chip aimed at significantly reducing power consumption to provide more efficient support for Japan's AI infrastructure. According to Nikkei Asia, the goal of their collaboration is to design a novel stacked DRAM chip. The wiring method of this chip will differ from the popular high-bandwidth memory (HBM) currently on the market, with expectations to reduce power consumption by approximately 50%.

Chip Technology (1)

Image Source Note: Image generated by AI, licensed by MidJourney

This new technology will be handled by a newly established company called Saimemory, which will focus on chip design and patent management. Actual chip manufacturing will be outsourced to specialized foundries. Saimemory plans to complete prototype development within the next two years, followed by an assessment of whether to proceed to mass production. The commercialization target is set in the 2020s, with the entire project investment expected to reach 10 billion yen (approximately 500 million RMB).

In this collaboration, SoftBank is the main investor, contributing 3 billion yen (approximately 150 million RMB). Additionally, the RIKEN Institute and Kobe Precision Machinery are considering participation in the project through financial or technical contributions. The project also plans to seek government support to further promote the development of this new type of memory.

SoftBank expects this new memory chip to be widely used in its AI training data centers. As AI technology continues to deepen in high-end fields such as enterprise management, the demand for high-performance and efficient data processing capabilities is increasing. This new memory chip is expected to support the construction of high-quality data centers at lower costs, meeting the growing market demand.

This research and development progress undoubtedly brings new opportunities to the AI industry and contributes to the application of energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies. With the rapid development of AI technology, this cooperation between SoftBank and Intel may have far-reaching impacts on the entire tech industry.

Key Points:

🌟 SoftBank and Intel are collaborating to develop a new AI memory chip, aiming to reduce power consumption by about 50%.

💡 The design of the new stacked DRAM chip differs from existing high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

💰 The project is expected to invest 10 billion yen, with SoftBank as the main investor, targeting commercialization in the 2020s.