Yes - after 2.5 years Imec states "we welcome the strengthening...

Yes - after 2.5 years Imec states "we welcome the strengthening of our collaboration with 4DS".

I guess WD could participate in the CR and here's a timely way imec could also further strengthen the collaboration:

https://imecxpand.com/

Surely HGST/WD joining the collaboration and having further input into the next stage is valuable for imec, not just 4DS.

What to look forward to? Lots but ...

Endurance 2 to 3 times better than previously reported and actual endurance may be significantly higher, but can't be quantified yet. So there's still potential upside on the additional wafers prior to the next stage taking place.

50/50 for me is the line

"Measured retention and additional studies will be conducted to establish upper limits". I hope it implies they have a base case of adequate retention and need more time & testing to see how far it can go. (i.e similar to the endurance comments). As distinct from it was a bit of a flop and we need to advance it asap.

Overall - Imec's supportive comments and the expansion and continuation of the collaboration partners give me hope that there is a definite future.

gltah