IM Flash May Close, Intel-Micron Collaboration on Slippery Waters

Though the end of the year should end on a promising note, this may not happen for a certain join venture that Intel and Micron have been managing, IM Flash that is, whose existence may be in jeopardy.

Fortunately, Intel and Micron haven't gotten into a lawsuit, unlike many IT players, but their collaboration may not survive much longer if a recent report is to be believed.

As end-users know, Intel and Micron have been jointly funding a certain company known as IM Flash Technology.

This joint venture was established a while ago and was meant to help both parties solidify their presence on the NAND Flash storage market.

It was founded back in 2006 and has two plants, one stationed in Utah and the other one in Singapore, both of them making 300mm wafer architecture. Currently, about 2,000 people are employed by the venture.

So far, both Intel and Micron have been promoting their respective Flash solutions, the former's most recent product being a very small SSD unveiled just today.

Unfortunately, or so says TechEye in its recent report, the two partners have been having some trouble lately.

Apparently, Micron is less than pleased with Intel's contributions to IM Flash Singapore, that being pne of the aforementioned fabrication plants that they both operate.

Intel has supposedly been reluctant to invest further into the plant, meaning that it did not provide the necessary funding for increasing production.

This dispute was started by Micron's CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Steven Appleton and may indicate a possible plan on Intel's part to back out.

By giving up on IM Flash, Intel may be taking its first step towards terminating its partnership with Micron.

Meanwhile, Michael Chen the director of the Asia-Pacific division of the embedded sales and ultra-mobility group at Intel, who was also very adept at forging deals with the companies in the region resigned for supposedly personal reasons.

All that remains is to wait and see just what all of this will lead to.