SoftBank unit, Intel partner on next-gen memory for AI

SoftBank’s subsidiary Saimemory has signed a collaboration agreement with Intel to develop Z-Angle Memory (ZAM), a next-generation memory technology.

Established in late 2024, Saimemory focuses on research and development of advanced memory technologies.

The partnership plans to create prototypes by FY2027 and aims for commercialization by FY2029, targeting data centers and AI model training.

The collaboration will leverage Intel’s validated foundational technologies from its Next Generation DRAM Bonding initiative, supported by the US Department of Energy’s AMT program.

This effort is part of SoftBank’s broader push to support next-generation social infrastructure.

It also aims to strengthen Japan’s semiconductor capabilities through international partnerships.

🔗 Source: SoftBank

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Saimemory’s low-power High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) alternative is backed by Japanese industrial policy

The joint venture plans an alternative to HBM, with a stated goal of two to three times HBM storage capacity while using half the power at a comparable or lower price 1.
It stacks standard DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) die using new interconnection methods, drawing on IP and patents from Intel and the University of Tokyo 1.
Intel supplies engineering support, industry know-how, and stacking technology, while SoftBank provides cash 2 1.
A Japanese consortium covers most funding. SoftBank adds about $20 million, with more money from Fujitsu and Japan’s Riken National Research Institute (a major government-backed research organization), and the Japanese government is expected to subsidize part of the cost 1.

Intel’s collaboration ties US national-lab memory R&D to commercial AI infrastructure

AI workloads put memory at the center of performance limits, which matches a wider effort to co-design system-level compute and memory rather than only processors 3.
The partners aim for AI and data-center use, with prototypes planned by FY2027 and market-ready products by FY2029 under their stated timeline.
Sandia says a partnership with Intel under the Advanced Memory Technology (AMT) program used DRAM plus new techniques to build a “novel memory capability,” including work tied to Intel’s “Next Generation DRAM Bonding” initiative 4.
Independent accounts describe the effort as a bid for an HBM substitute during tight supply, in a market led by Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron 5.