Intel Kills Optane Reminiscence Enterprise Completely

Intel’s Q2 2022 earnings report as we speak was uncharacteristically disappointing, nevertheless it additionally hid a brand new announcement: Intel is ending its Optane enterprise completely. Through the earnings name, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger clarified the vaguely-worded announcement within the earnings paperwork, confirming that Intel will wind down its Optane enterprise. The transfer incurs a $559 million stock impairment/write-off. Intel issued the next assertion to Tom’s {Hardware}: 

“We proceed to rationalize our portfolio in help of our IDM 2.0 technique. This consists of evaluating divesting companies which are both not sufficiently worthwhile or not core to our strategic goals. After cautious consideration, Intel plans to stop future product growth inside its Optane enterprise. We’re dedicated to supporting Optane prospects via the transition.”— Intel’s spokesperson to Tom’s {Hardware}.

Gelsinger mentioned this marks the sixth non-core enterprise Intel has offered since his arrival, together with the current sale of its drone enterprise to Elon Musk’s brother together with the sale of the SSD storage unit to SK hynix, producing $1.5 billion for funding in areas which are core to Intel’s enterprise. 

Intel used Optane reminiscence to create each storage and reminiscence merchandise, and it has lengthy been rumored to be on the chopping block. Intel had already stopped producing its Optane storage merchandise for shopper PCs, which is smart as it’s at the start of a multi-year journey to promote its NAND enterprise to SK hynix. Nonetheless, Intel initially retained its reminiscence enterprise for the information heart, together with its persistent reminiscence DIMMs that may perform as an adjunct to primary reminiscence – a functionality solely Intel provided. These merchandise will now come to an finish, too.

Gelsinger cited an business shift to CXL-based architectures as a motive for winding down the Optane enterprise, mirroring Intel’s ex-Optane associate Micron’s sentiments when it exited the enterprise final yr. Micron was the only real fabricator of 3D XPoint, the reminiscence Intel makes use of to make Optane, and the corporate later offered its 3D XPoint fab to Texas Devices, leaving Intel with no manufacturing amenities of its personal.

Trade watchers reported that Intel was serving current Optane prospects from its stock that it amassed from Micron earlier than the fab was closed, however that it wasn’t actively fabricating the reminiscence. Intel reportedly had a number of years of stock available, maybe explaining the magnitude of the $559 million write-off.

Curiously, we noticed the preliminary assessments of Intel’s next-gen DDR5 Optane reminiscence modules, codenamed Crow’s Cross, emerge simply final week. These DDR5 modules have been deliberate to debut with Intel’s oft-delayed Sapphire Rapids chips later this yr. That clearly will not come to go. 

As a substitute, Intel will successfully pay $559 million to place an finish to its Optane enterprise.