Written by Kevin Donnelly
Previously I shared that as a long-time Rambus employee, the Rambus of today isn’t the same company I joined 21 years ago. Even within just the past year the changes within Rambus are extraordinary. Not only have we settled all of our disputes from the past, but we have now become members of JEDEC. We recently joined JC-40, the committee that is working on developing standards that drive server-based memory solutions.
This is an important area for us as we have a strong history developing innovative solutions that improve overall system power efficiency, cost and performance. At ISSCC 2013, we demonstrated a working test platform running our next-generation DDR5-class memory signaling technology at nearly three times the data rate of today’s DDR4 DRAMs in a similar power envelope and a conventional dual-module system environment. With proof points like this, we feel that headroom exists for future server memory performance beyond DDR4. We also believe that being a member of this JEDEC committee gives us the opportunity to work more closely with the industry to help accelerate the adoption of advanced memory systems, especially those for cloud and server-based applications.
For the long-time Rambus followers, some may question our motivation for joining this JEDEC committee. Now that we have signed agreements with the majority of the DRAM industry, we want to further our industry engagement, and we feel that this is a great place to do so. We will follow the JEDEC disclosure and licensing policies for products that comply with specifications issued through the JC-40 committee in which we are a member. As well, we will continue to broadly license our IP, including for products that comply with the specifications issued from other JEDEC committees and for those outside JEDEC entirely, and at reasonable rates that are consistent with our current license agreements.
Becoming part of this JEDEC committee is another example of how we have been evolving as a company. One of our primary goals is to work collaboratively with our broader industry. We believe being part of the industry within JEDEC helps highlight we are committed to working with our industry, beyond licensing our innovations. Our R+™ Enhanced Industry Standard Solutions, which we introduced last year, showcase our dedication in working with our customers to enhance existing standards-based products and to help bring differentiated products to market.
As I reflect on the past with an eye towards the future, it’s an incredibly exciting time to be a participant in the memory industry and this demonstrates we’re ready to help the industry move forward. We are anxious to get integrated in the JEDEC committee and look forward to being able to share more developments in the future.
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