Micron does not further develop 3D XPoint memory and wants to sell factory – Computer – News

Micron will immediately stop with the further development of 3D XPoint memory. Intel uses that memory for its Optane products, but there are hardly any other customers. Micron wants to sell its 3D XPoint factory.

Micron is already in talks with parties about the sale of its plant in Utah, where the 3D XPoint memory will be made. The company wants to conclude a sales agreement by the end of this year. It is not known with which parties Micron will speak.

According to Micron there is not enough interest in 3D XPoint memory to warrant further investment. The manufacturer says that high investments are required to further develop the memory type and adapt it to customer requirements.

According to Micron, the expertise gained in the development of 3D XPoint can be used for new memory types that are intended for storage. Micron will invest more money in the development of memory products that support the Compute Express Link-interconnect used.

Micron developed 3D XPoint in collaboration with Intel, but in 2018 the parties who cooperate. Micron then took over the plant in Utah, where the memory is made. Intel uses the 3D XPoint memory for its Optane products, making it the main customer.

In January Intel announced stop Optane SSDs for consumer PCs. The manufacturer still makes Optane products for consumer laptops and for the enterprise market. Intel thus seems the most obvious takeover candidate for the factory. However, Micron also notes that the production facility can be converted for other chips.

The development of 3D XPoint started in 2015. Micron and Intel presented it at the time as memory that combines the speed of working memory with the storage capacity of flash memory. It is therefore more expensive than nand memory. With SSDs such as the Intel Optane H10, nand memory is combined with a small amount of 3D XPoint memory as cache. Intel also makes dimms with 3D XPoint memory; they have to offer a higher capacity at a lower price than dimms with dram.