Intel sells its “NAND memory and storage business, including SSD, components, wafers and the Dalian memory manufacturing to SK Hynix. SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest chip manufacturer behind Samsung Electronics, will pay 9 billion dollars to take over Intel’s memory business.
This is an important move where the South Korean company will get new resources to compete for the first place as a semiconductor and flash solutions manufacturer. However, Intel Optane is not included in the agreement, the alternative to SSD will continue to be one of Intel’s priorities in the long term.
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Intell will sell SSD and NAND memory business to SK Hynix
The agreement is pending approval by the U.S. and South Korean governments, although both parties expect to close the deal by the end of 2021. According to SK Hynix, as part of the agreement that will be divided into two payments, Intel will continue to manufacture memories in the Dalian factory until March 2025.
“For Intel, this transaction will allow us to further prioritize our investments in differentiated technology,” explained Bob Swan, Intel’s CEO. The U.S. company is in the midst of restructuring, after selling its smartphone modem business to Apple for $1 billion in 2019.
The future of Intel goes through Octane: the alternative to the SSD
Intel will keep its business from Optane, the alternative to SSDs based on 3D Xpoint technology. Optane is produced in conjunction with Micron and in fact, as Tom Hardware points out, Intel does not currently manufacture large volumes of Optane memory but simply buys it from Micron.
In 2019, Intel introduced its new Optane H10 SSD with reduced latency and higher random read rates than SSDs with NAND chips. At the moment, the cost of Optane is significantly higher, but Intel seems determined to bet on this technology.
Intel sells its SSD and NAND memory business to SK Hynix for $9B, but they will keep Optane as a determined project.
