A new partnership saw Japanese memory vendor Saimemory Corp. bolster its push to deliver an alternative to high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
The SoftBank subsidiary is teaming up with semiconductor packaging specialist Shinko Electric Industries to drive R&D and commercialization regarding Z-Angle Memory (ZAM). Developed by Saimemory with Intel, the DRAM-based memory offering redesigns HBM by building DRAM up and down in the stack in a Z-direction, rather than sideways, while using a different interconnect approach called Inductive I/O. According to Saimemory, this approach solves some of the thermal and stacking limitations of conventional HBM, possibly improving capacity, bandwidth, data processing, processing performance, and power consumption in data centers, and superseding HBM’s compute benefits for AI training and inference.
Under a memorandum of understanding, Shinko will work on ZAM packaging and manufacturing technologies, while Saimemory continues its ZAM development in line with Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). A major Japanese government semiconductor R&D funding programme, the project funds 6G-leaning information and communications systems, with an overall focus on advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies.
NEDO’s funding likely goes some way toward the reported project’s cost of around $70 million, toward which SoftBank was expected to invest $21 million. Saimemory won the 3.5-year contract in union with Intel, which acts as Saimemory’s technology, innovation, and standards partner.
Intel’s stake in ZAM development, as revealed in February, builds on Intel’s Next Generation DRAM Bonding initiative. Operations were expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026, with prototypes targeted for 2027 and commercialization by 2030.
Hideya Yamaguchi, president & CEO of Saimemory commented in an announcement: “As AI continues to advance, expectations for next-generation memory that combines high performance with low power consumption continue to grow. We are very encouraged to have reached this agreement with Shinko.
“Bringing together the technologies and expertise of both companies, we will accelerate the practical implementation of ZAM … and work to establish memory technology that is competitive in both domestic and global markets.”
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