Direct:
Taiwan has never had a real seat at the AI memory table, which has belonged to Samsung (KRX: 005930), SK Hynix (KRX: 000660), and Micron (NASDAQ: MU). That may be starting to change at the edges. Powerchip (TWSE: 6770) and AP Memory (TWSE: 6531) have joined the Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and SoftBank Corp. (TYO: 9434) effort to build a stacked-DRAM architecture meant to sit alongside, and eventually past, HBM. The vehicle is SAIMEMORY, SoftBank's memory subsidiary, and the technology is Z-Angle Memory, also shown as HB3DM.
The demonstrated part is a nine-layer 3D DRAM: a logic die at the base with eight DRAM layers stacked on top, joined by hybrid bonding on very thin silicon. The pitch is bandwidth approaching HBM4-class with materially lower power, the group citing a 40-50% power reduction versus conventional HBM. Taiwan's role here is substantive. PSMC takes pilot production and manufacturing, and AP Memory, a Taiwanese custom-memory specialist, appears in the demonstration on the design side.
This is a long-dated bet. Prototypes are targeted for around 2027 and commercialization not until roughly 2029, by which point HBM4 and HBM4E will be shipping in volume and HBM5 will be in sight. By 2029 ZAM will be competing against HBM5-era parts, which keeps the bar moving. Calling it post-HBM is a roadmap claim well ahead of any shipping product, so treat the bandwidth and capacity numbers as vendor figures until silicon is independently measured.
For anyone outside the data center, the interest is indirect. A credible fourth source of high-bandwidth AI memory would chip away at the three-supplier concentration that is currently routing wafers away from commodity DRAM and NAND. Any relief from that lands at the end of the decade, well after the current squeeze.
Drafted with AI assistance against parallel reporting.
Sources:
- DigiTimes, “Taiwan joins post-HBM memory race with Intel, SoftBank” (June 26, 2026, paywalled stub: headline and lead only)
- TrendForce, “PSMC Joins Intel, SoftBank's ZAM Initiative to Manufacture AI Memory, Eyeing an Alternative to HBM” (Feb 23, 2026)
- DataCenterDynamics, “Intel and SoftBank partner for low-power stacked DRAM offering” (2026): SAIMEMORY JV, low-power positioning
- TechRadar, “Details of Intel's HBM-killer memory tech emerge, revealing nine layers” (2026): nine-layer stack, bandwidth approaching HBM4
- Tom's Hardware, “Intel and SoftBank collaborate on power-efficient HBM substitute for AI data centers” (2026): power-efficiency framing, timeline
- DigiTimes, “SoftBank-backed SAIMEMORY plans post-HBM shift with vertical memory tech” (Mar 24, 2026): prototype ~2027, commercialization ~2029, 40-50% power reduction
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