Wasn’t this the Intel SSD division they sold off to SKHynix? looks like they got out at the right time.
They made out like a bandit from the sale. $7B in 12/2021, another $2B at final closing in 3/2025, and avoided multiple billions in losses in the NAND crash of 2022-2023. Cancels out the McAfee purchase debacle at least.
Meanwhile the actual SK Hynix is building a brand new NAND team at their San Jose location.
When you check Solidigm’s catalogue, it’s either old Intel drives or rebranded SK Hynix drives with custom firmware. It seems like SK Hynix is only interested in acquiring the patents and top talents while the rest is left to rot.
The original plan was Intel’s Dalian fab, R&D, design team and their enterprise customers. But now they have abandoned the R&D, design, product, validation teams. Dalian fab is in jeopardy with sanctions. Enterprise customers have abandoned them.
Samsung and SK Hynix received permanent exceptions to sanctions for fabs already in China as long as its to maintain and do upgrades to non leading edge processes.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/09/tech/south-korea-samsung-hynix-chips-waiver-hnk-intl/index.html
Exactly why. SK does not want to deal with sanctions.
Terrible company name imo