Numemory's 128 Gb storage-class memory chip fills gap left by Intel Optane

Chinese chip startup Numemory is widening its storage-class memory (SCM) line with the NM102 – a 128-gigabit (16 GB) single-level cell memory chip. This new chip’s got a major capacity jump over their first-gen 64 Gb NM101 that came out back in September 2023.

Based in Wuhan and officially known as Xincun Technology, the company built these memory chips to combine DRAM-like performance with NAND flash storage benefits. The NM102 still uses the standard 3200 MT/s NAND interface and 1.2V I/O voltage like its older model, but now it packs double the storage.

Numemory’s tech aims for microsecond-level response times, landing it between DRAM’s lightning-fast nanosecond speed and the slower pace of traditional NAND flash. To give you an idea, most modern 3D TLC NAND chips clock in at around 80 microseconds for read operations, with write times in the hundreds of microseconds.

These new chips could be used as building blocks for solid-state drives, but their low capacity per chip could be a bit of a snag for mainstream form factors. For instance, an M.2-2280 SSD would need quite a few of these chips to hit competitive capacities since you can only fit four memory packages per side.

Numemory, which was founded in July 2022, now has about 220 employees – and roughly 80 percent of them are in research and development. Even though the company hasn’t shared many details about how they make these chips or the technical details of the tech, this advancement marks another step in China’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency. It’s even more notable now that similar tech like Intel’s Optane memory is no longer around.