Directly hit the AI memory bottleneck! Softbank subsidiary teams up with Intel Corporation (INTC.US) to develop ZAM storage, targeting commercial use by 2029.

On Tuesday, the subsidiary Saimemory of the multinational investment giant SoftBank Group and the US chip manufacturer Intel Corporation (INTC.US) jointly announced that they have signed a cooperation agreement to work together to promote the commercialization of next-generation memory technology. This collaboration focuses on the next generation memory technology that can meet the increasing demand in the fields of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Currently, this collaboration is named the "Z-Angle Memory Plan," abbreviated as ZAM. SoftBank stated that the prototype is expected to be completed by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2028, with the goal of commercializing it in the fiscal year 2029. Following the announcement, SoftBank's stock price rose by 3.13% on Monday, while Intel Corporation's stock price rose by 5%. The plan focuses on developing core technologies for advanced memory. Intel Corporation's involvement is specifically aimed at improving the performance and power efficiency of the next-generation dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) used in computers and servers. "Existing standard memory architecture is no longer able to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI)," said Dr. Joshua Fryman, Intel Corporation Fellow and Chief Technology Officer of Intel Corporation's Government Technology Division, in a statement. He further added that Intel Corporation has successfully developed a new memory architecture and assembly method that not only enhances the performance of DRAM but also effectively reduces power consumption and costs, laying a solid foundation for the technology to be more widely applied in the next decade. This collaboration comes at a time when the demand for memory in artificial intelligence-related applications is experiencing explosive growth. Currently, the demand for memory far exceeds the supply, leading to a shortage in the entire memory supply chain. It is worth mentioning that the ZAM plan places a high emphasis on energy efficiency, reflecting the increasing concern about the significant energy consumption required for artificial intelligence computing. Saimemory was officially established in December 2024 and in its development process, it will leverage the professional knowledge and experience accumulated by Intel Corporation in the field of memory technology, especially the series of work results carried out in related projects as part of Intel Corporation's U.S. Energy Corp. Advanced Memory Technology Program. Last year, the cooperation between Intel Corporation and SoftBank in next-generation memory technology was first reported by the media. It is reported that the Japanese multinational IT equipment and services giant Fujitsu is also involved in this project.