Sandisk and SK hynix have just signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on what could become a pivotal advancement in AI memory infrastructure. Announced in a press release, this agreement aims to standardize “High Bandwidth Flash” (HBF), a NAND flash-based memory technology built into HBM-like packages. This marks the first serious industry push to fuse flash and DRAM-like bandwidth into a single stack, potentially transforming how AI models access and process data at scale.
Unlike traditional HBM, which relies exclusively on DRAM, HBF substitutes parts of the memory stack with NAND flash—trading raw latency for significantly higher capacity and non-volatility. The approach allows HBF to deliver up to 8–16x the capacity of DRAM-based HBM, at comparable costs, while still targeting similar bandwidth levels. Unlike DRAM, which requires constant power to retain data, NAND is non-volatile, enabling persistent storage with reduced energy demands.
