Intel CEO hints at return to the memory business — says market is ripe for innovation, hints at stacking memory and CPU
Lip-Bu Tan says he has a pet project related to a new memory architecture.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has expressed interest in revisiting the memory business, indicating that recent advancements have made it a strategic asset worth pursuing. He stated that the memory industry is ripe for innovation and hinted at the possibility of stacking memory on top of a CPU. Tan previously mentioned that he had hired his friend, Seok-Hee Lee, who was once the head of SK Hynix, to explore new memory architectures.
He did not provide further details about the project but emphasized the potential for significant innovation in the field.
Intel's history with memory dates back to 1968 when the company was a leading player in the industry. However, it eventually exited the market after facing severe losses to Japanese competitors in the 1980s. Since then, Intel has attempted to return to memory by exploring NAND and Optane technologies, but ultimately abandoned those initiatives without significant losses.
Despite the potential profitability of memory, re-entering the market would require substantial capital investment in fabrication facilities, R&D for competitive process technologies, and time. Given Intel's struggles in the foundry market and exit from 3D NAND and Optane, it remains uncertain whether the company would be inclined to invest in memory.
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