Looking to secure its automotive semiconductor supply chain, GM has signed an agreement with memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. that will supply the automotive giant with a secure, long-term supply of memory and storage products for its current and future vehicles.
Additionally, Micron and GM will collaborate on future memory and storage technology requirements for future vehicles that support GM’s future vehicle architectures and roadmaps. That will include:
- Future product definition
- System-level optimization
- Qualification of advance memory technologies
Micron said the agreement is enabled through its investments in memory including the expansion and localization of supply for automotive users. This includes its $200 billion investment to build new fabs and expand others: the $2 billion investment to modernize its Manassas fab, which started production this year; two memory fabs in Idaho; up to four fabs in New York; new advanced HBM packaging capabilities; and future R&D.
Under the agreement, GM will secure a supply of LPDRAM, NOR and UFS NAND products and the two companies will validate and qualify future technologies.
“As demand for memory and storage continues to grow, we are investing to extend supply availability, expand capacity and align more closely with our customers to improve supply predictability across the automotive ecosystem,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, chairman, president and CEO of Micron Technology. “Our expanding manufacturing efforts in the United States are designed to enable GM to deliver both near-term products as well as secure U.S.-based supply to support next generation platforms and innovation.”
Why it matters
The automotive landscape continues to move toward software-defined and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven processes. Memory and storage will likely play a major role in how these technologies are delivered and what can be stored in these vehicles. It will also be how fast and secure advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving can be implemented in the future.
Micron said automotive platforms and production require consistent component supply over extended lifecycles and the supply chain agreement will not just allow GM to have a supply of these microchips at a time when the AI ecosystem is garnering more demand for semiconductors as new data centers come online and even more are in the process of construction. The agreement could also be a way to secure a supply if a supply chain shortage happens due to these trends in the market.
