Micron Technology, Inc. Shakes Hands with Hardware IP Players to Angle for GDDR6 Adoption Beyond the Graphics Market
Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is joining forces with hardware IP players including American tech licensing firm Rambus, having made a name for its intellectual property-based litigation on the heels of the introduction of DDR-SDRAM memory, Northwest Logic (a provider of silicon-proven, high-quality IP cores), and Avery Design. The goal? Deliver to the table an expansive solution, from memory to PHY to Controller to Verification IP. This solution is designed specifically for ASIC and FPGA to facilitate the adoption of the world's fastest discrete memory GDDR6 past the graphics universe.
A solution of this type has yet to be seen. Moreover, this next-gen application-focused comprehensive solution could captivate the Street's attention in allowing GDDR6 to be utilized in advanced applications, including: high-performance networking, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and 5G infrastructure.
Worthy of note, older generations of GDDR memories empowered by GPU venders indicated exclusive focus on the graphics playing field. This was great for enabling graphics and game console designs alike to capitalize on the meaningful performance upper hand from the memory chip, but any other application could not without the fundamental building blocks being there for use.
Now, MU, Rambus, Northwest Logic, and Avery Design are changing the game, with the first-of-its-kind, comprehensive solution fusing all at once each of these firms' impressive contributions that ultimately will solve this former challenge. In doing so, the companies will broaden both the reach as well as the benefit of GDDR6 far past the traditional graphics market.
Targeting up to 64GB/s, GDDR6 offers a meaningful advantage over the fastest available DDR4. This unprecedented level of single-chip performance, thanks to proven, industry-standard BGA packaging gives designers a powerful, cost-efficient, and low-risk solution, all while using the most scalable, high-speed discrete memory available to the market.
"With our GDDR6N for Networking announcement at the Linley Processor Conference last October and considerable interest from automotive customers, Micron continues to leverage our extensive experience and leadership in graphics memory," said Tom Eby, senior vice president and general manager, Compute and Networking Business Unit at Micron. "This solution promises to unlock GDDR6 performance for a new wave of exciting and innovative products."
"We are excited to work with our memory partners to deliver the best possible GDDR6 memory solution. Initially designed for high-performance graphics, the high bandwidth delivered by GDDR6 makes it ideal for other data-intensive applications like AI, ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems), and high-speed networking," said Luc Seraphin, senior vice president and general manager of the Rambus Memory and Interfaces Division. "Leveraging nearly 30 years of experience in high-speed interface design, we are proud to be the first IP provider to offer a PHY solution for GDDR6 and continue our position on the leading edge of industry standards."
"Northwest Logic's is adapting its widely used, silicon-proven Memory Controller solution to support GDDR6 memory. The fully configurable, high-performance GDDR6 Controller will be fully integrated, verified and delivered with the Rambus GDDR6 PHY enabling customer to quickly and reliably create GDDR6 designs," said Brian Daellenbach, president of Northwest Logic.
"Avery is extending our proven line of memory models to support GDDR6. These models provide significant performance monitoring and other useful features not found in the memory vendor models. The Avery GDDR6 memory models will enable GDDR6-based SoC designs to be robustly verified and performance-optimized quickly and effectively," said Chris Browy, vice president of sales and marketing for Avery Design.
TipRanks flashes a strong bullish analyst consensus rooting for Micron. Out of 19 analysts polled in the last 3 months, 16 are bullish on Micron stock while 3 remain sidelined. With a return potential of 36%, the stock's consensus target price stands at $59.06.
