AMD Acquires MEXT to Turn SSDs into Low Cost Virtual RAM

AMD has acquired MEXT, a startup specializing in AI driven memory optimization that allows NAND flash to function as virtual DRAM at the operating system level. The technology uses predictive tiering to keep frequently accessed memory pages in DRAM while moving colder data to SSDs, reducing performance penalties compared to traditional RAMdisk style approaches. This comes at a time when data centers face ongoing DRAM shortages and rising memory costs, with NAND flash being nearly 50 times cheaper than DRAM. By integrating MEXT's Predictive Memory engine, AMD aims to offer a scalable and cost effective solution for memory bound workloads, especially in AI and data center environments. The acquisition marks AMD's third major attempt to address memory limitations after previous efforts like RAMdisk and StoreMI.

Read the full story on TechRadar →