Nanochip, Inc., a developer of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) silicon data storage chips, claims that it is ready to complete development of its first terabyte memory chip prototypes.
The California-based company announced today the
completion of a $14 million financing round, that would allow Nanochip to create the first terabyte memory chips and to start customer sampling in 2009.
Nanochip is developing a new class of ultra-high-capacity storage chips enabling the
storage of tens of gigabytes (GB) of data per chip, or the equivalent of many highdefinition feature-length videos. By coupling MEMS with nano-probe array technology that far exceeds the expected limits of conventional lithography used in present semiconductor memory, these new chips are designed to meet the demand for cost-effective, removable and rewritable data storage for use in computing, server and consumer electronics products.
Nanochip?s first products are expected to exceed 100 GB per chip set, reaching terabytes (TB) in the future, and at a substantially lower cost compared with flash memory solutions.
"Flash has become the technology of choice for a variety of consumer and business applications where cost-effective, non-volatile solid-state storage is a must," said Keith Larson, vice president and director of manufacturing, memory and digital health sectors
for Intel Capital. "However, as flash process technology scaling begins to approach its limits, Nanochip?s technology is well positioned to provide memory capacity with exponentially higher storage densities at a cost per gigabyte significantly below that of flash technology. New memory components, such as Nanochip?s, will enable new, innovative electronics devices and increase the performance of existing computing and other devices."
"We are well on track to meet our original schedule of reaching full commercialization of our first product offering by 2010," said Gordon R. Knight, Ph.D., CEO of Nanochip, Inc..
Nanochip is funded by venture capitalist that include Intel Capitol and JK&B Capital, and counts Microsoft Corp. among its backers.
The company has been granted seven U.S. patents for its technology, and has applied for 34 more.