AMD buys data center memory optimization startup Mext

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) announced it has acquired Mext Corp., a startup focused on optimizing memory usage in data centers. The deal aims to help AMD customers overcome memory supply shortages in AI-driven environments, where demand for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is outpacing availability, driving up costs and limiting performance. Mext’s technology uses AI to analyze memory access patterns and proactively transfers less frequently used data to NAND-based flash storage, which is significantly cheaper than DRAM. When the data is needed again, the system retrieves it back into DRAM, ensuring low-latency access without sacrificing performance. This approach effectively expands usable memory capacity while reducing infrastructure costs. The acquisition targets a critical challenge for large-scale data centers, where inefficient memory usage and supply constraints create bottlenecks for AI, high-performance computing, and virtualization workloads. AMD believes Mext’s solution will improve data center efficiency, accelerate AI deployment, and lower total costs for cloud providers and enterprises. Mext’s technology will be integrated into AMD’s broader data center portfolio, complementing its existing hardware and rack-scale systems, which combine processors, AI accelerators, networking, and software. Dan McNamara, AMD’s senior vice president and general manager of compute and enterprise, stated the acquisition strengthens AMD’s ability to deliver differentiated full-stack compute and AI solutions. The deal also brings Mext’s engineering team, experienced in memory architectures and large-scale computing, to AMD. While the acquisition is unlikely to immediately boost AMD’s revenue, it provides an alternative memory architecture solution for system design, according to analyst Code Acree.