Intel and Micron team up on new storage technologies

Intel and Micron have extended their longstanding technology partnership to include emerging memory technologies beyond flash.

The companies will work on jointly developing new flash technologies, along with undisclosed emerging memory technologies, they announced on Tuesday.

Though the partners did not disclose what they will be collaborating on, many companies and academics are investigating memristors, phase-change memory and other non-volatile storage technologies as successors to flash.

Under the terms of the agreement, Intel will sell its stake in two flash wafer factories to Micron for around $300m (£190m) in cash. In addition Intel will deposit $300m with Micron to either be refunded in the future or used in purchases of NAND flash from Micron.

"The Intel-Micron partnership has created industry-leading NAND Flash memory technology and developed a robust global manufacturing network," Robert Crooke, general manager of Intel's non-volatile memory solutions group, said in a statement. "The new NAND Flash supply agreement with Micron gives Intel better flexibility to meet growing demand for SSDs and other products."

Micron will purchase the assets of IM Flash Singapore and IM Flash Technologies. IM Flash is a joint venture between Intel and Micron spanning manufacturing and flash-related research and development. Financial terms of that part of the deal were not disclosed.

The new partnership should come into play within the first half of 2012, subject to closing conditions.