4DS - Anything but Charting, page-3107

If they were going to take it past megabit stage they would need to take it outside of IMEC's fab and off IMEC's megabit memory vehicle.

Presumably IMEC is only interested in the phase of development that takes a potential product to megabit testing. That's what industry wants from them - to supply "lab fab" services to prove new memory technology is viable in megabit chips form. Remember IMEC is all of memory manufacturing industry coming together to agree on what they need to know to prove a new technology is commercially viable. WD coming back and wanting more from 4DS would be massively changing the goalposts.

So I can't see a path for 4DS beyond megabit development. They don't own a fab to do the work in. Anything beyond that will be in the hands of the purchaser. Thinking about the potential purchasers:

WD: Wants a universal memory chip that acts both as RAM and storage - primarily for cloud computing. Having RAM that acts as storage and vice versa allows simplification of server architecture and due to not needing to be "constantly on" to retain data, saves a lot of energy. The fact that more of the data is on the "fast side" of the system and doesn't have to be brought over from storage, also saves energy and increases computing speed. WD have shown they want to get away from consumer storage (they have sold off that aspect of their business) and focus on cloud computing systems. Owning 4DS means they can control the IP completely.

Amazon: Would have the same interest as WD but for their own facilities, to gain a commercial advantage. They would still have to allow WD to manufacture under license and would also need to build their own fab. So they might not worry about it and just go with WD products.

Apple: Have shown they want to have total control over their components. After years of buying components "to spec" from other manufacturers and having their devices assembled in China, they are looking to be a vertically integrated business. They have even been repatriating their manufacture and assembly to the US. Having a universal memory for mobile devices that simplified device architecture and reduced power use would be a boon to them. It's also the last major piece they need to acquire. They would have to license to WD, but since WD want the tech for cloud purposes they wouldn't be competing against each other. Seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement. A lot of dev required - also at the consumer end of the market which is typically the last to get the new stuff. Would be a big investment for Apple (they woudl also need to build a fab) but in terms of the company MC and annual revenue, loose change.

Another memory manufacturer (Kingston, Samsung): Could buy for technology advantage - would have to share with WD but it's a big potential market to carve up. It might be better to license off WD later on when RERAM filters down to consumer grade devices. WD might be happy to license it off for those purposes as it's not where they are focused.

A China company: Might want a commercial advantage for strategic purposes. WD would still own rights and Chinese companies have shown they don't necessarily worry about respecting others patents anyway. Takeover could be blocked for strategic reasons too (Aus and US governments).

Some tech investment company/fund: Just buy the tech knowing they have a guaranteed income stream from WD for license revenue. Then license it off to other firms for specific tunes of the chip - eg Apple might want longer retention, sacrificing speed, Kingston might want speed but not much retention (energy efficient RAM).

Just my thoughts spewed out onto the monitor... take them for what you will.