Samsung and SK Hynix will accelerate CXL technology development
As an open interconnect protocol, CXL (Compute Express Link) facilitates swift and efficient connections between CPUs and GPUs, FPGAs, or other accelerators, catering to the current demands of high-performance heterogeneous computing. It offers enhanced bandwidth and superior memory coherence. CXL is constructed upon the physical and electrical interfaces of the PCIe 5.0 standard, with its most recent specification being the Compute Express Link 3.0.
According to a report by Business Korea, market research indicates that by 2028, the global CXL market will burgeon to a worth of $15 billion. Although currently less than 10% of CPUs are compatible with the CXL standard, it’s anticipated that by 2027, all CPUs will be designed to support the CXL interface. It’s projected that in 2028, 80% of the global CXL market revenue, amounting to $12 billion of the aforementioned $15 billion, will be attributed to DRAM.
The crux of the competition in the CXL market undeniably revolves around DRAM. Being the world’s leading and second-largest memory manufacturers, Samsung and SK Hynix respectively, will not bypass this emergent ‘blue ocean’ of opportunity presented by CXL. Both are fervently advancing their CXL technology, aiming to boost server DRAM sales. In theory, CXL memory modules can provide seemingly limitless DRAM expansion within servers, harmonizing communication protocols across diverse information processing devices. This simplifies data processing, mitigates data bottlenecks, heightens energy efficiency, and addresses the physical scalability issues of DRAM in contemporary computing standards.
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and PCs have been propelling the research and development of high-performance DRAM products. Both Samsung and SK Hynix opine that following HBM, CXL will herald a new technological paradigm in the memory market. They plan to augment their investments and expedite the development of CXL technology, seeking a competitive edge.
