Results achieved within 3 months after acquisition of Intel's NAND business division
Release of three highly stable models with varying capacities
Supple samples to US market, etc... Mass production
Three months after acquiring Intel's NAND division,SK Hynix introduced a solid state drive (SSD) for enterprises that combines the technologies of the two companies. SK Hynix is accelerating its global competitiveness strengthening strategy, 'Inside America'.
SK Hynix announced on the 5th that theyplan to release the 'P5530' SSD for data centers, developed in collaboration with Solidigm. Solidigm is an SSD subsidiary established by SK Hynix after completing the first phase of acquiring Intel's NAND business, at the end of last year. Located in San Jose, USA, it is serving as the vanguard of SK Hynix's Inside America strategy to expand its global semiconductor capabilities including the US.
The new product was created by combining SK Hynix's flagship 128-layer 4D NAND and Solidigm's controller. SK Hynix developed high stability and large capacity for data center servers. Solidigm contains controller chip technology that supports computing systems to operate NAND flash memory. It supports high-speed input/output interface of 4th generation PCIes. Depending on the capacity, it will be released in three types: 1 terabyte (TB), 2 TB, and 4 TB.
After completing their own product performance evaluation, the two companies are now supplying samples to major overseas customers who operate data. As data center operators are mainly located in North America, they are expected to focus on the US market. Mass production is expected to begin as early as the second quarter.
SK Hynix plans to expand thecompetitivenessof their mobile NAND business to the enterprise SSD market,with their collaboration with Solidigm. SK Hynix has been working with Solidigm to develop products immediately after acquiring Intel's NAND division. The high-performance enterprise SSD, the first result of their collaboration, is a sign that SK Hynix's NAND business has taken steps to increase their competitiveness to the next level, which has been lacking compared to DRAM.
Jong-won Roh, president of SK Hynix said, “By rapidly introducing products that combine South Korea's SK Hynix and US'Solidigm capabilities, we have been able to strengthen competitiveness in our NAND business, and build momentum in our Inside America strategy,” further adding, "We will continue to optimize the partnership between the two companies and create a synergy that goes beyond '1+1'."
Solidigm CEO Rob Crook said, “The two companies will create technological synergy and lead the paradigm shift in the NAND industry,” and “Starting with this P5530 product, we will continue to supply products with the highest competitiveness to our customers."
◇ SK Hynix's Acquisition Log for Intel's NAND Business Unit
By staff reporter Dong-jun Kwon (djkwon@etnews.com)