The Memory Rebellion: SoftBank & Intel’s SAIMEMORY Aims to Topple HBM Dominance

The Memory Rebellion: SoftBank and Intel’s SAIMEMORY aims to topple HBM dominance, with the project seeking to deliver a commercially scalable memory technology that offers higher capacity, lower power and competitive pricing. According to Nikkei, Fujitsu has officially joined the initiative, which is led by SoftBank and includes Intel, with the objective of creating a viable successor to HBM for AI servers facing the memory wall.

SAIMEMORY plans to invest a total of ¥8 billion by fiscal year 2027, with SoftBank contributing ¥3 billion and Fujitsu and Japan’s RIKEN jointly investing ¥1 billion. The programme also involves Shinko Electric and Taiwan’s PSMC for prototype design and fabrication, while Fujitsu is a major shareholder in Shinko Electric; SAIMEMORY was established on 17 December 2024 and renamed SAIMEMORY on 7 May 2025, and is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo.

The project targets two to three times the capacity of current HBM, about half the power consumption, and pricing on par with or cheaper than HBM, potentially reshaping the AI memory landscape if benchmarks are met.